The Effects of Different Levels of Dried Aerial Parts Powder and Extract of Pennyroyal­ (Mentha pulegium) Medicinal Plant on Performance, Egg Quality, Blood Biochemical and Immunity Parameters of Laying Hens

Subject Areas : Camel

J. Paymard ¹ , A. Nobakht ² , F. Mazlum ³ , M. Moghaddam ⁴

1 - Department of Animal Science, Maragheh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maragheh, Iran
2 - Department of Animal Science, Maragheh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maragheh, Iran
3 - Department of Animal Science, Maragheh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maragheh, Iran
4 - Department of Animal Science, Maragheh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maragheh, Iran

Received: 2012-01-04 Accepted : 2012-05-01 Published : 2013-09-01

Keywords: laying hens, Egg traits, blood metabolism, <i>Mentha pulegium</i>,

Abstract :

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of dried aerial parts powderand extract of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) medicinal plant on performance, egg traits, blood biochemical and immunity parameters of laying hens. Two-hundred-fifty-two Hi-line (W36 strain) laying hens from 46 until 58 weeks of age were used in a completely randomized design in 7 treatments and 3 replicates (12 birds per replicate). The treatment groups consisted of a control group (1) with no dried aerial parts powder or extract of pennyroyal supplementation, and experimental groups 2, 3 and 4 contained 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% of pennyroyal powder respectively, whereas experimental groups 5, 6 and 7 contained 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% of pennyroyal extract, respectively. Using different levels and forms of pennyroyal significantly affected the performance, egg traits, blood biochemical and immunity parameters of laying hens (P<0.05). By increasing the level of pennyroyal extract to 0.2% and 0.3% of rations, the performance of laying hens significantly decreased, whereas pennyroyal powder improved the performance of laying hens, consequently the best feed conversion ratio (2.46) was achieved by using 1.5% pennyroyal powder. The highest specific gravity (1.092) and Haugh unit (89.22) were resulted in groups 5 and 6, respectively. The lowest amount of blood triglyceride (270.4 mg/dL) and the highest amounts of albumin (3.05 mg/dL), total protein (5.40 mg/dL) and uric acid (5.39 mg/dL) were observed in group 7. The lowest percent of hetrophil (9.67%) and the highest percent of lymphocyte (90%) were observed in group 2 and the highest amount of white blood cells (266601/mm3) was resulted in group 5. The overall results showed that the use until 1.5% of dried aerial parts powder and 0.1% of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) extractcompared with control group had positive effects on performance of laying hens. Using different levels of pennyroyal powder and extract could change the egg traits, blood biochemical parameters and immunity levels of laying hens.

References:

AOAC. (1994).Official Methods of Analysis. 16^th Ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists,Washington, DC.
Card L.E. and Nesheim M.C. (1972). Poultry Production. 1^th Ed. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia1 USA.
Francois R. (2006). Active plant extracts show promise in poultry production. Poult. Int. 20, 28-31.
Frankič T., Voljč M., Salobir J. and Rezar V. (2009). Use of herbs and spices and their extracts inanimal nutrition. Act. Agric. Slovenica. 94, 95-102.
Gross W.B. and Siegel H.S. (1983). Evaluation of the heterophil / lymphocyte ratio as ameasure ofstress in chickens. Avian. Dis. 27, 972-979.
Jaderi N., Nobakht A. and Mehmannavaz Y. (2011). Investigation the effects of using ofSaturejahortensis,Ziziphora tenuir,Urtica dioica and their different mixtures on yield, eggquality, blood and immunity parameters of laying hens. Iranian J. Med. Arom. Plant. 27, 11-24.
Khosravi A., Boldaji f., Dostar B. and Hasani S. (2008). The use of some feed additives as growthpromoter in broiler nutrition. Int. J. Poult. Sci. 7, 1095-1099.
Mahboubi M. and Haghi G. (2008). Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of Menthapulegiumessential oil. J. Ethnophar. 119, 325-327.
NRC. (1994). Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 9^th Rev. Ed. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
Nasiri S., Nobakht A. and Safamehr A.R. (2011). The effects of different levels of nettle Urtica dioica(Urticaceae) medicinal plant in starter and growing feeds on performance, carcass traits,blood biochemical and immunity parameters of broilers. Iranian J. Appl. Anim. Sci. 1, 177-181.
Nobakht A. and Mehmannavaz Y. (2010). Investigation the effects of using of Thymusvulgaris, Lamiaceae menthapiperita, Oreganum valgaremedicinal plantson performance, egg quality, blood and immunity parameters of layinghens. Iranian J. Anim. Sci. 41, 129-136.
Nobakht A., Norany J. and Safamehr A.R. (2011). The effects of different amounts of Menthapulegium (pennyroyal) on performance, carcass traits, hematological and bloodbiochemical parameters of broilers. J. Med. Plant. Res. 5, 3763-3768.
Nobakht A. and Shahryar H.A. (2010). The effects mixture of Malva silvestris, Alhaji mauroum and Mentha spicata on performance, carcass traits and blood metabolits ofbroilers. J. Anim. Sci. 3, 51-63.
Nobakht A., Hosseni Mansoub N. and Mohammad Nezhady M.A. (2012). Effects of Melissa officinalis, Tamacetum balsamita and Ziziphora clinopodioides on performance,blood biochemical and immunity parameters of laying hens. Asian J. Anim. Vet. Adv. 10, 1-6.
Platel K. and Srinivasan K. (2004). Digestive stimulant action of spices: a myth or reality. Indian J. Med. Res. 119, 167-179.
SAS Institute (2005). SAS/STAT User's Guide for Personal Computer. Relesse 9.12 SASInstitute, Inc., Cary, NC., USA.
Sayedpiran S.A., Nobakht A. and Khodaei S. (2011). The effects of using of probiotic, organic acidand blends of some medicinal herbs on performance, egg quality, blood biochemical animmunity parameters of laying hens. Tabriz Vet. J. 5, 1111-1122.
Srinivasan K. (2005). Spices as influencers of body metabolism: an overview of three decades of research. Food Res. Int. 38, 77-86.
Suresh D. and Srinivasan K. (2007). Studies on thein vitro absorption of spice principles curcumin,capsaicin and piperine in rat intestines. Food Chem. Toxicol. 45, 1437-1442.
WindischW., Schedle K., Plitzner C. and Kroismayer A. (2008). Use of phytogenetic products as feedadditives for swine and poultry. J. Anim. Sci. 86, 140-148