Effect of Phytobiotics Supplementation on Growth Performance, Acquired Immunity, Blood Metabolites and Nutrient Digestibility in Broiler Chickens

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the efficacy of phytobiotic supplementation (PS), consisting on Allium sativum, Calendula officinalis, Echinacea purpurea, Emblica officinalis, Ocimum sanctum, powdered American ginseng, Withania somnifera active ingredients, on growth performance, acquired immunity, blood metabolites, carcass characteristics and nutrient digestibility of broiler birds. Two hundred and sixty, day-old broiler chicks (Ross-308) were divided into five treatments (T0; 0, T1; 0.75, T2; 1, T3; 1.25 and T4; 1.5 mL L-1 concentrations of PS in drinking water, respectively. Broiler growth performance was recorded weekly. Two birds from each replicate were slaughtered on day 21st and 35th to evaluate antibody titers, immune organ index (thymus, bursa and spleen). Samples for blood metabolites, carcass characteristics, nutrient digestibility and bone mineralization were collected on the 35th day. Collected data was analyzed using analysis of variance under a completely randomized design. PS had improved (P