EFFECT OF PEPPERMINT (MENTHA PIPERITA) POWDER ON PERFORMANCE, GUT MORPHOLOGY AND IMMUNE ORGANS RESPONSE OF COCCIDIOSIS INFECTED BROILERS

Abstract

This experiment was performed to find out the effect of peppermint on the performance, gut morphology and immune organs of coccidiosis challenged broilers. A feeding trail was conducted on 320-day-old Ross 308 chicks allocated to 32 floor pens in a 2x4 factorial arrangement. The studied factors were: challenge (Negative or Positive) and feed additive (Control, Peppermint and). On day 8 of age, birds in challenged groups were orally inoculated with Eimeria tenella. On day 35 Eimeria decreased weight (P <.0001) gain and deteriorated feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05). On 24 and 35 days of age, broilers given salinomycin and peppermint had improved weight gain and feed conversion ratio compared to controls (P < 0.05). Significant challenge × additive interactions were observed for weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio villus height, crypt depth and apparent villus surface area on d 24 and d 35. Challenged broilers in salinomycin and peppermint groups had significantly increased villus height and villus height/crypt depth and decreased crypt depth compared to positive control. Challenged birds exhibited significantly longer, wider and larger area of bursa of Fabricius lymphoid follicles compared to non-challenged birds. These results illustrated that, peppermint has high protective efficacy against declining in the performance and gut health of coccidiosis infected broilers.