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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 10, No. 2
Publication Date: April 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/aivp.102.12216. Umoru, J. I. A., & Agbaye, F. P. (2022). Performance, Serum Biochemical and Haematological Response of Broiler Chicken Fed
Mixture of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) and Garlic (Allium Sativum) in Diets. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(2). 596-601.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Performance, Serum Biochemical and Haematological Response
of Broiler Chicken Fed Mixture of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) and
Garlic (Allium Sativum) in Diets
Umoru, J. I. A.
Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka, Lagos
Agbaye F. P.
Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Lagos
ABSTRACT
Performance, serum biochemical and hematological response of broiler chicken fed
mixture of ginger (Zingiber officinale) and garlic (Allium sativum) in diets was
investigated in a feeding trials using completely randomised design that lasted for
eight weeks. A total of 135 1-day broiler chicks of Abor acre strain were randomly
allotted to three dietary treatments of 45 chicks per treatment and replicated 15
chicks per treatment Three isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated
and fed. Control diet was without mixture of ginger and garlic. The two other diets
were T1, 7.5g Ginger plus 7.5g Garlic mixture/25kgdiet and T2, 15g Ginger plus 15g
Garlic mixture/25kgdiet. The experimental diets were offered to the respective
birds with water ad libitum. The body weight gain (Kg) feed intake and feed
conversion ratio (FCR) of birds control, T1 and T2 respectively were similar (p>
0.05). Birds on diet. T2 recorded the highest live ability percentage (96 Mixture of
ginger and garlic in ratio 1:1 up to 7.5g each in 25kg diets slightly but insignificantly
(p>0,05) increased performance body weight gain and live ability improved feed
conversion ratio (FRC) but reduced feed intake. Variation in the experimental diets
had no significant (p>0.05) difference on serum biochemical and hematological
indices except for Glucose and Alkaline Phosphate, and White Blood Cell count
Lymphocytes and Basophil which showed significant (p<0.05) difference with the
level mixture of ginger and garlic in diets. Mixture of ginger and garlic in the diets
of broiler chicken had no adverse effect on the serum biochemical and
hematological indices.
Keywords: performance body weight, serum biochemical and hematological indices,
Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale
INTRODUCTION
In pursuit of improved broilers health and in order to fulfil consumer expectation in relation to
food quality, poultry farmers include natural herbal materials in the diet of their stock
(Gardzielewska et al; 2003). The use of blood examination to assess physiological, pathological,
nutritional and health status of animals have been well documented (Muhammed et al. 2004).
The routine collection and processing of blood samples allow the evaluation of serum
biochemical and hematological response to nutrition and disease (Howlet and Jaime, 2008).
Blood examination can be used to detect nutritional disorder since it provide information on
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Umoru, J. I. A., & Agbaye, F. P. (2022). Performance, Serum Biochemical and Haematological Response of Broiler Chicken Fed Mixture of Ginger
(Zingiber Officinale) and Garlic (Allium Sativum) in Diets. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(2). 596-601.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.102.12216
animal health, nutritional deficiency and changes in growth with time. The nutritional value of
diets could be a reflection through changes in performance, serum biochemical and
haematological indices of animal base on treatment effects. Ginger, Zingiber officinale
(Zingbeacea) and Garlic, Allium sativum, (Liliaceae) are herbal materials with good nutritional
and medicinal properties. The plants and their extract possess antioxidant, anticancer,
immune-modulatory, anti-inflammatory hypoglycaemic, antifungal, antiviral, anti-dental caries
and cardiovascular effects (Gbenga et al., 2009). Previous study has demonstrated positive
effects of herbal materials on the performance, serum biochemical and haematological indices
of birds (Iskiwenu et al. 2008). In the present study, mixture of ginger and garlic was added to
broiler diets in two graded levels to evaluate effects on the performance, serum biochemical
and haematological indices.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was carried out at Teaching and Research Farm of Agricultural Education
Department, Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka-Yaba, Lagos. A total of 135 1-day
broiler chicks of Abor acre strain (45 chicks per treatment and 15 chicks per replicate), reared
in an open-sided deep litter pen previously cleaned, disinfected, fumigated and covered with
wood shavings to 5 m depth before their arrival. The chicks on arrival were allowed to adapt to
their new environment for 7 days in order to reduce variation in performance due to hatchery
and to avoid high mortality due to treatment effects. The test materials, ginger and Garlic were
purchased from the open markets in Lagos metropolis, rinsed using distilled water, sundried
for 5 days and blended using an electric Mortal & Pestle miller (Model MR 200 Pascall) into
powdered form. The "milled powdered materials was packed inside transparent polythene
bags and added to broiler starter and finisher diets in ration 1:1 of ginger and garlic. Dietary
treatments were T1: 7.5g ginger plus 7.5g garlic/25kg diet and T2: 15g ginger plus 15g
garlic/25kg diet. The gross composition of starter and finisher diets are shown in Table 1. The
birds were allotted to the two treatment groups in a completely randomized design with three
replicates per group containing 15 birds each. The experimental diets were made
isonitrogenous and isocaloric. Recommended vaccination and medication schedules from the
hatchery were strictly observed. Starter diets was fed for 4weeks (0-4weeks) and finisher
4weeks (5-8weeks). Experimental diets water was provided ad-libitum throughout 52 days of
the study. Body weight changes and feed intake were measured on weekly basis to determine
body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. At the end of week 8 of feeding trials, two (2) birds
from each dietary treatment per replicate were randomly sampled to determine serum
biochemical and haematological responses. 5ml samples of blood were taken from the wing
vein of randomly sampled birds from each dietary treatment per replicate. 2.5ml of the sampled
blood was put in labelled Sterile Universal Bottles containing anti-coagulant (Ethyl Diamine- Tetra-Acetate powder (EDTA)) to determine haematological indices. Haematological indices
such as Packed Cell Volume (PCV) (56), Red Blood Cells (RBC) (T/L) and White Blood Cells
(WBC) (G/L), Haemoglobin (g/1), Neutrophils (%), Basophils (%), Lymphocytes (9), Eosinophil
(%). Monocytes (6), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) (1), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin
(MCH) (pg) and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) (g/dl) according to the
procedure of Jaime and Howlett (2008). The remaining2.5ml of the sampled blood was put in
labelled Sterile Universal Bottles without anti-coagulant to determine serum biochemical
indices such as Total Protein (mg/dl), Albumin (g/dl), Alkaline Phosphate (ALP) (u/l) and Ureic
acid (mg/dl) and Glucose (mg/dl). Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and
significant means were separated using statistical package ASSISTAT Version 7.7 beta (2013).
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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 10, Issue 2, April-2022
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The composition and calculated analysis of starter and finisher diets are shown in Table 1. The
crude protein and metabolizable energy content of diets respectively were within the range
recommended by Oluyemi and Robert (2000).
Table 1: Gross Composition of Starter and Finisher Diets
Feed Ingredients Starter Diet Finisher Diet
Maize 46.71 61.00
Soyabean meal 21.29 17.00
Groundnut cake 15.00 12.00
Fish meal (72%) 3.00 2.00
Wheat offal 10.00 4.00
Di-calcium Phosphate 1.70 1.70
Limestome 1.20 1.30
Lysine 0.25 0.25
Methionine 0.25 0.25
Broiler Premix 0.25 0.25
Salt 0.25 0.25
Total 100.00 100.00
Calculated Analysis
Metabolizable Energy (kcal/kg) 2713.41 2918.76
Crude Protein (%) 24.00 20.37
The effect of mixture of ginger and garlic in diets on the body weight development of broiler.
chicken is presented in Table 2. The final mean body weight gain and feed intake (kg) and feed
conversion ratio (FCR) values (kg)for birds on control, T1 and T2 diets respectively were similar
(p>0.05). Inclusion of mixture of 7.5g ginger plus7.5g garlic mixture/ 25kg diet slightly
increased body weight gain of birds. Bird fed 15g ginger plus 15g garlic mixture/ 25kg diets
had the lowest body weight gain due to higher level of the mixture. Broiler chicken fed control
diets increased in weekly body weight gain rapidly between 4th and 6th week, and decline from
week 7. Birds fed T1 and T2 diets steadily increase in weekly body weight gain behind those fed
control diet (See Fig. 1). The differences in weekly body weight gain could be attributed
probably to high fiber and some anti nutritional factor in the mixture of ginger and garlic
included in the diets. The increasing positive beneficial growth potential of birds on T1 and T2
diets could possibly due to improvement in feed digestion, additive, advantage of nutrients and
anti-microbial property of the mixture of ginger and garlic in the diets (Tekeli et al., 2008;
Gbenga et al., 2009). Mortality was moderate and evenly spread ranging from 9-4 percent. Birds
on diet T1, survived the most (96% live ability) suggestive of the advantage of the antibiotic
property of mixture of ginger and garlic in the diets.
Table 2: body weight of broiler chicken fed mixture of ginger and garlic in diet
Parameters Control T1 T2 SEM
Initial weight (g) @ 2nd week 0.17 0.16 0.18 0.01
Final weight (kg) 2.02 2.06 1.92 0.91
Weight gain (kg) 1.85 1.90 1.74 0.07
Feed intake (kg) 4.77 4.22 4.02 0.32
Feed conversation ratio (feed/weight) 2.70 2.22 2.31 0.21
Live ability 91.00 96.00 92.00 1.49
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Umoru, J. I. A., & Agbaye, F. P. (2022). Performance, Serum Biochemical and Haematological Response of Broiler Chicken Fed Mixture of Ginger
(Zingiber Officinale) and Garlic (Allium Sativum) in Diets. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(2). 596-601.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.102.12216
Control: experiential diet T1: (7.5g ginger + 7.5g garlic/25kg experimental diet); t2: (15g
ginger+15g garlic/25kg experimental diet
Fig. 1 weekly body weight (kg) gain of broiler chicken
The results of serum biochemical and haematological indices are presented in Tables 3 and 4
respectively. Variation in the experimental diets had no significant (p>0.05) difference on TP,
UA and Alb except for Glu and ALP which showed significant (p<0.05) difference with the level
mixture of ginger and garlic in diets. The haematological indices (HB, RBC, PVC, MCV, MCH.
MCHC, Neut, Mon and Eos) of all treatment were similar except for WBC, Lymp and Baso which
were significantly (p>0.05) different. The values of serum biochemical and haematological
indices obtained in this study are comparable with similar results (Muhammed et al., 2004).
The progressive decreases in Hb value could indicate nutritional inadequacies as the level of
mixture of ginger and garlic increased in the diets. This is in agreement with the decreased feed
intake of bird as mixture of ginger and garlic increased in the diets. The nutrient intake
restriction effect of decreased voluntary feed intake may have result in the deficiency of blood
nutrient composition.
Table 3: Serum biochemical indices of broiler chicken fed mixture of ginger and garlic in diet
Parameters Control T1 T2 SEM
T P (g/dl) 32.81 37.90 35.27 1.47
Glu (mg/dl) 213.93 290.91 228.85a 23.57
UA (mg/dl) 6.27 5.22 7.00 0.52
ALB 2.32 1.59 1.48 0.26
ALP (u/l) 1134.36 1450.38 1261.32a 91.81
a.b Means with different superscripts in the same row are significantly (p<0.05) different. TP- Total protein, Glu Glucose, UA-Uric Acid, Alb-Albumin, ALP-Alkaline phosphate
The similarity of the PCV values obtained indicates that the treatment had no adverse effect on
the blood level and birds were not anaemic. RBC values were similar for all treatment and
shows that the blood level and immunity status of birds were not negatively affected by
experimental diets. However, WBC values significantly (p> 0.05) increased with increasing
level of mixture of ginger and garlic in diets. The values of RBC and WBC obtained in this study
are comparable with those reported by Iskiwenu et al. (2008) and are within the normal range
values. Variation in the level of mixture of ginger and garlic in the diets had no significant
(p>0.05) difference on serum biochemical (TP. UA and Alb) and haematological (HB, RBC, PVC,
MCV, MCH, MCHC, Neut, Mon and Eos) indices. This is an indication that mixture of ginger and
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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 10, Issue 2, April-2022
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
garlic in diets does not contain factors that are deleterious to the normal blood formation, and
does not impart negatively on the physiological, pathological and nutritional status of broiler
chicken.
Table 4: Haematological indices of broiler chicken fed mixture of ginger and garlic in diets
Parameters Control T1 T2 SEM
(Hb) gl) 75.00 71.42 51.44 7.33
RBC (T/L) 2.55 2.45 1.65 0.29
WBC (G/L) 16.16 23.24 19.60 2.04
PCV (%) 22.50 21.50 15.50 2.19
MCV (f/l) 88.19 87.96 104.50 5.48
MCH (pg) 29.48 29.23 34.70 1.80
MCHC (g/dl) 333.38 332.213 32.22 0.39
Neut (%) 43.00 32.50 31.00 3.78
Lymp (%) 46.00 62.50 62.50 5.50
Mon (%) 6.50 3.50 4.00 0.93
Eos (%) 3.00 1.50 2.50 0.44
Baso (%) 1.50 0.00 0.00 0.50
a,b Means with different superscripts in the same row are significantly (p<0.05) different. Hb. -
Haemoglobin, RBC-Red Blood Cells, WBC-White Blood Cells, PCV-Packed Cell Volume, MCV- Mean Corpuscular Volume, MCH-Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin, MCHC-Mean Corpuscular
Haemoglobin Concentration, Neut-Neutrophils.,Lymp-Lymphocytes, Mon-Monocytes, Eos- Eosinophil, Baso-Basophils.
CONCLUSION
The findings from this study shows that mixture of ginger and garlic (in ratio 1:1) up to 7.5g
each in 25kg broiler chicken diets slightly but insignificantly (p>0.05) increased final body
weight performance and live ability, improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) but reduced feed
intake. Also, mixture of ginger and garlic at same quantity had no adverse effect on the serum
biochemical and haematological indices of broiler chicken.
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Umoru, J. I. A., & Agbaye, F. P. (2022). Performance, Serum Biochemical and Haematological Response of Broiler Chicken Fed Mixture of Ginger
(Zingiber Officinale) and Garlic (Allium Sativum) in Diets. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(2). 596-601.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.102.12216
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