Growth, Carcass Traits, Blood Chemistry and Gut Microbiota in Broiler Chickens Fed Diets Enriched With Garden Cress Seed Powder as a Natural Growth Enhancer

• Published in: Veterinary medicine and science Vol. 11; no. 3; pp. e70397 - n/a
• Main Authors: Negm, Mohamed H., Aldhalmi, Ahmed K., Ashour, Elwy A., Mohamed, Laila A., Kamal, Mahmoud, Rashad, Aya, Khan, Mohammad M. H., Abd El‐Hack, Mohamed E., Swelum, Ayman A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.05.2025; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Additives; Animal Feed - analysis; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antioxidants; Biochemical analysis; Blood; Blood Chemical Analysis - veterinary; Body weight; Brassicaceae - chemistry; broilers; carcass; Carcasses; Chickens - blood; Chickens - growth & development; Chickens - microbiology; Chickens - physiology; cress seed; Diet; Diet - veterinary; Dietary supplements; Dietary Supplements - analysis; Efficiency; Flavonoids; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Globulins; growth; healthy product; High density lipoprotein; Humidity; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulin Y; Intestinal microflora; Juveniles; Lipoproteins; Lipoproteins (very low density); Low density lipoprotein; Male; Microbiota; Original; Oxidative stress; Physiology; Poultry; Powders; Random Allocation; Seeds; Seeds - chemistry; Statistical analysis; Superoxide dismutase; Veterinary medicine; microbiota; carcass; healthy product; cress seed; broilers; growth; blood
• ISSN: 2053-1095; 2053-1095
• DOI: 10.1002/vms3.70397

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of garden cress seed powder (GCSP) as a natural growth promoter and antioxidant agent in broiler diets, focusing on growth performance, carcass characteristics, microbial load and blood traits. A total of 210 1‐day‐old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were assigned to 3 experimental groups in a completely randomized design. Each group consisted of 7 replicates with 10 unsexed chicks per replicate. The dietary treatments included: (A) a basal diet without additives (control); (GCSP 1) a basal diet supplemented with 1 g GCSP/kg diet and (GCSP 2) a basal diet supplemented with 2 g GCSP/kg diet. The results revealed no significant differences in body weight (BW), BW gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) between the GCSP‐treated groups and the control. However, numerically, the GCSP‐supplemented groups exhibited improved BW, BWG and FCR compared to the control. Carcass traits remained largely unaffected, except for dressing percentage, carcass yield, thigh proportion and abdominal fat percentage, where significant differences were observed. Blood biochemical analysis showed a reduction in total protein, albumin and globulin levels in GCSP‐fed groups, whereas high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) levels increased and low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) and very LDL (VLDL) levels decreased, though these changes were not statistically significant. Immunological and antioxidative responses improved, as evidenced by elevated immunoglobulin Y (IgY), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, alongside reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the GCSP‐fed groups compared to the control. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with GCSP enhanced broiler immunity and antioxidative status, promoting increased IgY, IgM and SOD levels while reducing MDA levels. These findings highlight GCSP as a potential natural additive to improve broiler health and contribute to the production of healthier poultry products for consumers. The present study aimed to show the influence of garden cress seed powder (GCSP) as a natural growth promoter and antioxidant agent in broiler diets on growth performance, carcass characteristics, microbial load and blood traits. Three experimental groups received 210 1‐day‐old broiler chicks (Arbor Acres) in an experiment with a completely randomized design. The groups were separated into 7 duplicates, each containing 10 unsexed chicks. The treatments were as follows: A: without additive (basal diet); GCSP 1 and GCSP 2: basal diet +1 and 2 g garden cress seed powder/kg diet. The results indicated no significant differences among the GCSP treatments in BW, BWG, FI and FCR. However, numerically, the groups fed 2.0 and 1.0 g of GCSP/kg diet showed higher BW, BWG and FCR than the control group. Our results show no significant differences in carcass traits except for dressing, carcass, thigh and abdominal fat proportions. Our findings found that incorporating garden cress seed powder into broiler chick diets reduced blood protein, albumin and globulin levels, increased HDL levels and decreased LDL and VLDL levels in broiler chicks, with no significant changes observed. The results indicate an improvement in immunity and antioxidative blood, with a rise in IgY, IgM and SOD levels and a decrease in MDA levels in the groups fed 2.0 and 1.0 g of GCSP/kg diet, in comparison to the control. In conclusion, using garden cress seed powder in broiler chicks enhanced immunity and antioxidative blood, increasing IgY, IgM and SOD levels while decreasing MDA levels and having a healthy product for end users.