Vol. 12, Special Issue 10 (2023)

Author(s):
M Pallavi, B Swathi, M Shanmugham, D Nagalakshmi and C Vinayasree

Abstract:
The objective of this study was to find out whether certain herbal products, namely Herbal C at 10 g/kg feed, Osmo C at 10 g/kg feed, Heat Beat at 10 g/kg feed, and Immuplus AFS at 50 g/kg feed, were effective at minimizing heat stress in broiler chickens. Five dietary groups: Control, Herbal C, Osmo C, Heat Beat, and Immuplus AFS each comprised up of nine replicates of five chicks each were produced from a total of 225day old chicks. For about six weeks, poultry birds were reared in experimental shed with temperature and humidity index ranged from 93.78 to 97.16%. In each experimental groups, the carcass parameters including carcass weight, abdominal fat, giblet weight, tender and fillet weight and muscle pH, had non significantly greater values than the control. Additionally, histopathological studies on kidney, liver, spleen, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius revealed some degenerative changes in the control group, including shrunken glomeruli in the kidney, inflammatory cell infiltration in the perivascular and periductular region of the liver, congestion, and hemorrhages, as well as an indistinct vital change in the white and red pulp of the spleen. As a result of their immunopotential action, herbal immunopotentiator supplements only often underwent regenerative changes that suggested a protective effect. According to the findings of the current study, herbal treatments, in particular Immuplus AFS and Osmo C, may be recommended as natural alternatives for the alleviation of heat stress.