Abstract
The study determined the effect of a mixture of two herbal plants Nigella sativa and Zingiber officinale (NSG) on the performance and the lipid profile of broiler chickens. Four inclusion levels of NSG (0, 1.5% or 3.0% and/or 5 %) were used and given as feed on a fresh basis. The herbal plants were mixed to get a mixture of 75% Nigella sativa (NS) and 25% ginger (G). A total of 240 broiler chicks was randomly assigned to four treatments (four replicates of 15 chicks). During the first week, the body weight gain and feed intake were significantly (P<0.05) improved in the NSG-treated groups, whereas, in the second week of the experiment, birds that received 3% and 5% NSG mixture showed a significant increase in weight gain compared with the control and the birds fed with the 1.5% herbal mixture. The feed efficiency improved in chicks fed on diets that contained 3% and 5% NSG over the first 2 wk of the experiment. Overall feed efficiency was significantly high in the broiler diet with 3% NSG supplementation (NSG(3)). The concentration of blood cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) was significant (P<0.05) and increased in the NSG-treated groups, however, low density lipoprotein (LDL) decreased significantly (P<0.05) in broilers treated with NSG3 and 5% herbal mixture. The results indicated that the mixture of Nigella sativa and ginger at levels of 3% and 5% positively influenced the physical performance and blood cholesterol profiles in broiler chicks.