TITLE:
Effect of onion (Allium cepa L.) as an antibiotic growth promoter substitution on performance, immune responses and serum biochemical parameters in broiler chicks
AUTHORS:
Majid Goodarzi, Nasir Landy, Shahram Nanekarani
KEYWORDS:
Allium cepa; Onion; Broiler Chickens; Immune Response; Serum Biochemical Parameters
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.8,
August
1,
2013
ABSTRACT: This experiment was
conducted to evaluate the effect of onion (Allium cepa L.) as an
antibiotic growth promoter substitute on growth performance, immune responses
and serum biochemistry in broilers. A total of 192 one-d-old as hatched
broiler chicks (Ross 308) were weighed and randomly allocated to four treatment
groups, each with 4 replicate pens of 12 chicks. The dietary treatments
consisted of the basal diet (control), antibiotic (15 mg Virginiamycin/kg),
and control +10 or 30 g fresh
onion bulb/kg diet. Body weights
of broilers were determined at d 1, 21 and 42, feed intake was determined at
the same periods, and feed conversion ratio was calculated accordingly. At 14th
and 21st days blood samples were taken for measuring antibody titers against
NDV and at 42nd day for biochemical analysis. At d 42, two birds per replicate
were slaughtered for determination of lymphoid organ weights. Dietary
supplementation of30 g/kg onion
increased final body weight of broilers at 42nd d of age compared to the other
treatments (P P P Broilers receiving30 g/kg
onion had a significantly higher HDL and lower triglyceride concentrations compared to control groups (P . Feeding30 g/kg onion resulted in a marked reduction in the concentration of the glucose compared to control
groups (P . The results suggested that dietary inclusion of30 g/kg onion can be applied as
alternatives to in-feed antibiotics for
broiler diets.