The effect of different dietary levels of thyme essential oil on serum biochemical indices in Mahua broiler chickens

Abstract

A 42-day trial was undertaken to study the effect of different dietary levels of thyme essential oil (TEO) on serum biochemical indices of broiler chickens. Seven hundred and sixty-eight selected one-day-old Mahua broilers were divided into 8 dietary treatment groups with an addition of 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30 and 0.35 mg/kg of thyme essential oil respectively, with 4 replicate pens per treatment group (24 birds each). The feeding programme included a starter diet until day 21 and a finisher diet from day 22 until day 42. The results suggested that TEO markedly increased serum total proteins and globulins on day 21, significantly decreased alanine aminotransferase activity (P≤0.05), the albumin- to-globulin ratio, and serum urea on day 21 and 42, and in particular it improved highdensity lipoproteins on day 21 and 42 (P≤0.05). In conclusion, TEO can promote protein metabolism, enhance lipolysis and strengthen the immune function. Furthermore, after a comprehensive analysis, the ideal range of the essential oil addition to the broiler feed proved to be between 0.1 and 0.25 mg/kg.

Keywords

• Thyme essential oil, Mahua broiler chicken, Biochemical parameters