Performance development of broiler chickens fed diets containing the seeds of Silybum marianum L. and Thymus vulgaris L.
Subject Areas : Journal of Medicinal Herbs, "J. Med Herb" (Formerly known as Journal of Herbal Drugs or J. Herb Drug)امید فانی مکی 1 , محمود قزاقی 2 , حسین انصاری نیک 3
1 - گروه علوم دامی، دانشکده کشاورزی، دانشگاه بیرجند، بیرجند، ایران
2 - مرکز تحقیقات حیوانات اهلی، دانشگاه زابل، زابل، ایران
3 - مرکز تحقیقات حیوانات اهلی، دانشگاه زابل، زابل، ایران
Keywords: performance, broiler chicks, Thyme, Milk thistle,
Abstract :
Background & Aim: Medicinal plants is very potential to be used as a supplementary feed as well as feed additive in broilers.This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of milk thistle (MT) and thyme seeds (TS) on the performance in broilers. Experimental: In this study, 160 one-day-old (Ross 308) male broiler chicks were divided randomly into four major groups with 4 replicates based on a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments was included; i.e., (A) Control, (B) diet with 20 mg per kg of MT, (C) diet with 20 mg per kg of TS and (D) diet with 20 + 20 mg per kg of MT and TS, respectively. The birds were reared for 35 days in wooden pens. Also, feed and water were provided ad libitum. Feed intake (FI) and body weight gain (BWG) were measured in 3 stage (one-14, 14-28 and 28-35 days) for each replicate and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. Results: At One to 28 days of age, feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were no affected by dietary supplementation, while the percentage of abdominal fat was reduced by 3.14%, 3.11% and 3.32% for groups (B), (C), and (D), compared to group (A) 4.23%, respectively (P < 0.05). Birds fed the (D) supplemented treatment (MT plus TS) had the greatest FI and BWG levels (P < 0.05) than the control birds (group A) at 28 to 35 days. However, dietary supplementation (MT and/or TS) reduced (P < 0.05) the conversion ratio levels in the 28 to 35 days of study, and this effect was more pronounced for the (D) treatment (MT plus TS). Recommended applications/industries: In conclusion, the present research indicated that supplements of powdered thistle seeds and/or thyme seeds have a protective influence on the growth performance in broiler chicks.
Abdulkarimi, R., Daneshyar, M. and Aghazadeh, A. 2011. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) extract consumption darkens liver, lowers blood cholesterol, proportional liver and abdominal fat weights in broiler chickens. Italian Journal of Animal Science., 10: e20.
Al-Kassie, G.A.M. 2009. Influence of two plant extracts derived from thyme and cinnamon on broiler performance. Pakistan Veterinary Journal., 29(4): 169-173.
Bampidis, V.A., Christodoulou, V., Florou-Paneri, P., Christaki, E., Chatzopoulou, P.S., Tsiligianni, T. and Spais, A.B. 2005. Effect of dietary dried oregano leaves on growth performance, carcase characteristics and serum cholesterol of female early maturing turkeys. British Poultry Science., 46: 595–601.
Chand, N., Din Muhammad, F.R., Durrani, M. and Sahibzada, S. 2011. Protective effects of milk
thistle (Silybum marianum) against Aflatoxin B1 in broiler Chicks. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science., 24(7): 1011–1018.
Cross, D.E., Acamovic, T., Deans, S.G. and Cdevitt, R.M. 2002. The effects of dietary inclusion of herbs and their volatile oils on the performance of growing chickens. British Poultry Science., 43: 33–35.
Cross, D.E., McDevitt, R.M., Hillman, K. and Acamovic, T. 2007. The effect of herbs and their associated essential oils on performance, dietary digestibility and gut microflora in chickens from 7 to 28 days of age. British Poultry Science., 48: 496–506.
Demir, E., Sarica, S., Ozcan, M.A. and Suicmez, M. 2003. The use of natural feed additives as alternatives for an antibiotic growth promoter in broiler diets. British Poultry Science., 44: 44–45.
Fani Makki, O., Afzali, N. and Omidi, A. 2013. Effect of different levels of silymarin (Silybum marianum) on growth rate, carcass variables and liver morphology of broiler chickens contaminated with aflatoxin B1. Poultry Science Journal., 1(2): 105-116 .
Fani Makki, O., Omidi, A., Afzali, N., Sarir, H., Frouzanmehr, M. and Shibak, A. 2014. Efficacy of Silybum marianum seeds in ameliorating the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 in broilers. Iranian Journal of Toxicology., 8(24): 977-982.
Jacobs, B., Dennehy, C., Ramirez, G., Sapp, J. and Lawrence, V.A. 2002. Milk thistle for the treatment of liver diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal Medicine., 113: 506–515.
Langhout, P. 2000. New additives for broiler chickens. World Poultry., 16(3): 22-27.
Lee, K.W., Everts, H., Kappert, H.J., Frehner, M., Losa, R. and Beynen, A.C. 2003. Effects of dietary essential oil components on growth performance, digestive enzymes and lipid metabolism in female broiler chickens. British Poultry Science., 44: 450-457.
NRC. 1994. National Research Council. Nutrient requirements of poultry. 9th rev. ed., National Academy Press, Washington, USA.
Ocak, N., Erener, G., Burak, A.k.F., Sungu, M., Altop, A. and Ozmen, A. 2008. Performance of broilers fed diets supplemented with dry peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) or thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) leaves as growth promoter source. Czech Journal of Animan Science., 53(4): 169-175.
SAS. 1998. SAS User’s Guide, Statistics. SAS Institute, Cary, NC.
Seung-Joo, L., Katumi, U., Takayuki, S. and Kwang-Geun, L. 2005. Identification of volatile components in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and thyme leaves (Thymus vulgaris L.) and their antioxidant properties. Food Chemistry., 91: 131-137.
Tedesco, D., Steidler, S., Galletti, S., Tameni, M., Sonzogni, O. and Ravarotto, L. 2004. Efficacy of silymarin phospholipid complex in reducing the toxicity of aflatoxin B1 in broiler chicks. Poultry Science., 83(11): 1839-1843.
Vargas-Mendoza, N., Madrigal-Santillán, E., Morales-González, Á., Esquivel-Soto, J., Esquivel-Chirino, C., González-Rubio, M.G.L. and Morales-González, J.A. 2014. Hepato-protective effect of silymarin. World Journal of Hepatology., 6(3): 144-149.