Vol. 8, Issue 12 (2019)

Author(s):
Yogesh Kumar Sidar, AK Dubey, Dhananjay Sharma and Sanjay Sharma

Abstract:
This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of certain herbal products (Herbal C @10 g/kg feed, Osmo C @10 g/kg feed, Heat Beat @10 g/kg feed and Immuplus AFS @ 50g/kg feed) in broiler birds in alleviating the heat stress on productive performance. A total of 225 day old chicks were randomly divided into 5 dietary groups Viz: Control, Herbal C, Osmo C, Heat Beat and Immuplus AFS, with each group consisting of 9 replicates of 5 chicks. The birds were reared in sheds where the temperature and humidity index ranged from 93.78- 97.16% for a period of 6 weeks. Body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were recorded at weekly intervals. Blood samples were collected and assayed for haematological, biochemical, antioxidant enzyme, serum corticosterone and immune indicators. The body weight gain was significantly higher in treated groups compared to control with similar trend in feed consumption. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) values were non-significantly lower over control at the end of the experiment. Among the groups, Osmo C supplementation showed better growth rate and FCR. Herbal supplementation significantly increased the total serum protein values. While, Blood urea nitrogen, glucose, total cholesterol and corticosterone levels were significantly decreased over control. The antioxidant activity of Glutathione reductase (GSHRx), Super oxide dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) in serum significantly increased in all the experimental groups over control. While, Lipid peroxidation (LPO) showed a decreased effect. Humoral immune response in terms of antibody titer was significantly increased in all experimental groups with highest value (6.67 log2 titre) observed in Immuplus AFS supplemented group.