Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the impacts of dietary supplementation of graded levels of herbal mixture powder (HMP) on growth performance, carcase traits, blood indices and meat quality of broilers. The herbal mixture consisted of (300 g [Capsicum annuum] Hot red pepper + 300 gThymus vulgaris + 300 gSalvia rosmarinus + 150 gPimpinella anisum + 150 gMentha spicata + 300 gNigella sativa + 300 g garlic [Allium sativum]). A total of 360 chicks of Hubbard broiler one-day-old were randomly distributed into six treatment groups. The groups consisted of the basal diet as a control and a powdered mixture of HMP groups at levels of (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 g HMP/kg diet). The chicks fed a basal diet plus 5 g HMP/kg diet had the highest (p < .05) values of live body weight (LBW) and body weight gain (BWG) at five weeks of age. Serum total protein, globulin, liver enzymes and kidney parameter values were reduced in groups treated with different levels of HMP compared with the control. At the same time, values of albumin, A/G ratio, IgM and lysozymes were increased in chicks treated with HMP. The quality of stored meat and antioxidative parameters were improved in groups fed HMP. Thus, it is concluded that HMP could be used as a natural additive to the broiler diet to enhance the growth rate and improve blood parameters and meat quality. Also, the oxidative rancidity was less in the meat of treated chicks during the storage period as compared to control.