EFFECTS OF BLACK PEPPER (PIPER NIGRUM) AS FEED ADDITIVES ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE, CARCASS TRAITS, SOME BLOOD PARAMETERS AND GUT MORPHOLOGY IN BROILER CHICKENS

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is one of the most used spices. It is prized for having a unique, sharp flavor that is ascribed to alkaloid piperine. The current study aimed to determine how different dosages of black pepper powder (BPP) affected the immune system, gastrointestinal morphology, microbiological characteristics, growth performance, blood profiles, and antioxidant status in broiler chickens. Four experimental diets defined as (2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 g BPP /kg) were fed to 160 broiler chicks, randomly dispersed into 16 replicates, to have four replicates per treatment and 10 chicks per replicate. Measurements were made of growth performance, gut morphology, blood parameters, and slaughter tests. The results showed that dietary supplementation of different levels of BPP (2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 g/kg) led to a significant increase in body wight gain (BWG) of broiler chickens during the whole experimental period compared to the control group. While there were no significant effects on the feed intake of broiler chicks, the group fed 7.5g/kg BPP had the best feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to the control group during the whole experimental period. On the other hand, significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were recorded for broiler chickens supplemented with various levels of BPP compared with the control group. However, significantly highest serum levels of total protein and globulin were registered for bird supplementation with BPP at (5.0 and 7.5 g/kg) compared with the control group. The jejunum of birds fed BPP-enriched diets (2.5 and 5.0 g/kg) showed a significant increase in villus height compared with the control group. On the other hand, Feeding the BPP-containing diets resulted in a numerical increase in the total viable bacterial count compared with the control group. It is concluded that dietary supplements with BPP enhanced the performance and health status of broiler chickens.