Effect of feeding different levels of Echinacea extract on growth performance, blood metabolites, immune system and cortisol secretion in Japanese quails

This experiment was performed to evaluate the different levels of Echinacea extract in drinking water on performance traits, blood metabolites and immune system in Japanese quail over a period of 35 days. 400 quail chicks were used in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and 4 replications with 20 chicks per replication. Experimental treatments include 1- control diet without any additives of antibiotics and or herbs (negative control); 2- control diet plus antibiotic flavophospholipol 500 mg/kg (positive control); 3- control diet plus one ml of Echinacea extract in one liter of water; 4- control diet plus 2 ml of Echinacea extract in one liter of water; 5- control diet plus 3 ml of Echinacea extract in one liter of water. The traits tested included performance traits, blood metabolites, cortisol secretion, and immune system indices. The results showed that food intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio were not affected by the treatments. Among blood metabolites, only serum albumin was significantly affected by treatments (P<0.05). Cortisol and SRBC levels as well as IgG titer were significantly affected by experimental treatments (P<0.05). In general, it was shown that the addition of Echinacea extract to the water consumed by Japanese quails significantly stimulated the immune system and altered cortisol secretion; thus it seems this extract can be used to enhance the immunity of these birds.