Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Oregano Bioactive Lipid Compounds and Silver Nanoparticles on Broiler Production

Abstract

Feed additives could be added in the diets of broiler chickens to improve performance and for sustainable broiler production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of feeding broiler chickens with oregano bioactive lipid compounds (OBLC) and silver nanoparticles (Nano-Silver) on growth, viability, economics, carcass criteria, silver retentions, and serum biochemistry. One-day-old, unsexed Ross 308 broiler chicks (n = 320) were divided into four treatment groups. Ten replicates of eight birds each for each treatment were used. Treatments were: CONT (control diet), OBLC (CONT diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg OBLC), Nano-Silver (CONT diet supplemented with 4 mg/kg Nano-Silver), and CONT diet supplemented with OBLC + Nano-Silver at levels mentioned above were used for the study. The experiment lasted for 35 days. Supplementing OBLC and Nano-Silver individually or in combination improved (p < 0.01) body weight and feed conversion ratio when compared to CONT. The supplemented groups had a lower death rate than the CONT group, resulting in a higher net return. Supplementing broiler birds with OBLC, Nano-Silver, or their combination boosted dressing percentage and decreased abdominal fat when compared to CONT. Blood levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, creatinine, and urea were lowered in broilers fed OBLC, Nano-Silver, or combination diets. Overall, the current study demonstrates that broiler chickens fed diets with OBLC and Nano-Silver, either alone or in combination, improved growth performance, liver functions, dressing percent, silver absorption and decreased abdominal fat. The best performance was observed in the combination of OBLC and Nano-Silver group compared to other treatments.