Impact of drinking water supplementation of a blend of peppermint, coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), thyme, propolis, and prebiotic on performance, serum constituents, and immunocompetence of broiler chickens

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2022-10, Vol.54 (5), p.289-289, Article 289
• Main Authors: Behboodi, Hamid Reza, Hosseini, Davood, Salarieh, Asadollah, Gholampour, Mahmood, Panahi, Masoud, Alemi, Morteza, Baradaran, Atefeh, Nazarpak, Hadi Haghbin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Additives; Albumins; Antibiotics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body weight; Body weight gain; Chickens; Cholesterol; Drinking water; Erythrocytes; Essential oils; Hematocrit; Hemoglobin; High density lipoprotein; Immune response; Immune system; Immunocompetence; Immunomodulation; Leukocytes; Life Sciences; Lipoproteins (very low density); Low density lipoprotein; Lymphocytes; Peppermint; Poultry; Prebiotics; Propolis; Reagents; Regular Articles; Supplements; Thigh; Thyme; Triglycerides; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-022-03274-9

Essential oils, extracts, their components, and other non-antibiotic beneficial additives are becoming increasingly popular as naturally occurring immunomodulatory agents. A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a blend (hereafter refers to as ImmunoMax (IMX)) of peppermint, coneflower, thyme, propolis, and prebiotic on performance, immune response, hematological indices, and serum biochemistry of broiler chickens. A total of 300 day-old broiler male chicks were randomly assigned to 4 treatments: control (A) (not treated), 0.25 mL/L (B), 0.5 mL/L (C), and 1 mL/L (D) supplementing drinking water with IMX on alternate days, starting at day 21. The results demonstrated a higher body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI) in groups B, C, and D ( P