Comparison of addition of powder and hydroalcoholic extract of chamomile on performance, blood biochemical parameters and immunity of broilers

The aim of current study was to compare the effects of powder and hydroalcoholic extraction of chamomile with phosphoflavomycin growth promoter antibiotic on performance, blood parameters and immune response of broiler chicks. In this experiment, 288 broiler chicks of Ross 308 (male and female) were used in a completely randomized design manner with 6 experimental treatments, 4 replicates and 12 chicks per replicate from 1 to 42 days of age. The experimental groups were 1) control with basal diet; 2) basal diet with 0.045% phosphoflavomycin as growth promoter antibiotic; 3) basal diet with 0.05% hydroalcoholic extraction of chamomile; 4, 5 and 6 received basal diet with 0.05, 0.1 and 0.3% of chamomile powder, respectively. Results showed that the addition of chamomile had a significant effect on body weight gain and feed consumption for whole production periods. The highest feed intake, body weight gain and improvement in feed conversion ratio were observed in treatment contained 0.3% chamomile powder (P≤0.05). Serum levels of triglyceride, HDL, and LDL in chamomile treatments showed a significant decrease, compared with control group (P≤0.05). Serum levels of triglyceride, HDL, and LDL in the groups receiving chamomile decreased significantly compared to the control group (P≤0.05). Chamomile powder showed a significant impact on humoral immune responses against avian influenza virus (P≤0.05). The final result revealed that consumption of 0.3% chamomile powder compared to its extraction showed favorable effects on performance, immunity and blood parameters in broiler chicks.