Effect of curcumin, anise seed ground and their interaction on the immunological parameters of broiler chickens and the efficiency of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus retention percentage

The present work aimed to study the effect of feeding broiler chicks on diets containing different levels of curcumin, anise ground seeds and their interactions as natural feed additive on immune response and nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus retention efficiency percentage and economical evaluation. A total of 297, one-day-old Ross308 broiler chickens were randomly allocated to nine experimental treatments with three replications of eleven birds each (3×3). Three curcumin levels (0, 50 and 100 mg/kg) and 3 anise ground seeds levels (0, 0.50 and 1%) added to basal diet. The results showed that there was a significant (P<0.05) improvement in IgM for birds fed on diets containing anise seeds (0.5 or 1% in diet). There was significant (P<0.05) effect due to interactions of curcumin and anise levels on IgG at age 21 day and IgA at age 42 day. There was no significant effect of curcumin, anise seed alone and interactions on the bursa percentage and spleen percentage at the age of 42 days. The results also showed a decrease in nitrogen retention efficiency percentagein birds fed diets containing curcumin at age 43-45 day. The rate of calcium retention efficiency percentage decreased in birds fed diets containing anise seeds at age of 43-45 days. It was recommended that curcumin as medical herbs should be add at level of 50 mg/kg diet or 100 mg/kg curcumin plus 0.5% anise ground seeds to achieve higher immunity of broiler chicken (Ross 308).