Supplementation of Herbanimal® Extract in Drinking Water of Broiler Chickens Improved the Oxidative Stress Status

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the oxidative stress status in broiler chickens which received either Herbanimal® extract supplements in water or an antibiotic (ANT) in diet. We hypothesized that Herbanimal® extract can improve the oxidative stress status in chickens and be used as an alternative to antibiotics. A total of 120-day-old male broiler chicks were randomly divided into 24 pens with 5 chicks per pen. All birds were weighed and randomly subjected to one of two treatments (60 birds/treatment, 12 pen/treatment) for 6 weeks: 1) ANT: standard commercial diet supplied with an ANT, and 2) HBS: control/standard diet without ANT with supplemented Herbanimal® in drinking water (4 ml/L). On week 5, after sacrificing a subgroup of birds (10 birds/treatment), blood and liver samples were collected and stored at -80?C until further analysis. The mean of measured variables between the two groups was separated by paired Student’s t-test. The total antioxidant capacity of the liver was higher for the HBS group compared to ANT group. In addition, the HBS birds had improved plasma superoxide dismutase and catalase activity when compared to their ANT counterparts. Overall, Herbanimal® supplementation in water improved the oxidative stress status of broiler chickens. This together with our previous data on growth performance indicates that herbal extracts can be considered a safe alternative to ANTs in poultry production.