Effect of Adhatoda vasica leaf powder as herbal feed additive on growth performance and biochemical parameters of serum and liver of broilers

Adhatoda vasica (L.) Nees leaf extract has been reported to have aflatoxin detoxifying properties and hepatoprotective effect on aflatoxin B1-induced liver damage in Wistar rats. This medicinal plant can be added to broiler diets as feed additives to reduce the toxic effects of aflatoxin in feeds. However, several reports indicate that alkaloids containing plants are toxic to broilers. Hence, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of A. vasica on growth performance and biochemical parameters in serum and liver of broiler chicks (VenCobb 400). The treatments consisted of basal diet (control), basal diet supplemented with 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% of A. vasica leaf powder. The results suggest that feed intake and body weight gain were not significantly affected by dietary supplementation of A. vasica leaf powder up to 1.5% level when compared with the control feed. The best feed conversion ratio (1.66) was observed in the group fed with 1.5% of A. vasica leaf powder. No significant differences were observed in the levels of hemoglobin, red blood cells, packed cell volume, glucose and cholesterol in the serum of broiler chickens due to dietary supplementation of A. vasica powder when compared to control. An increase in Glutathione (GSH) and Glutathione S- transferase (GST) activities were observed in the A. vasica fed groups when compared to the control group. The results suggest that A. vasica could be considered as a potential and safe herbal feed additive for broilers to counteract the toxic effect of aflatoxins.