The comparative effects of dietary peppermint (Mentha pipperita), probiotic and prebiotic on growth performance and serum biochemical parameters of broilers performance

This study was conducted to investigate the comparative effects of prebiotic, probiotic and different levels of peppermint on the growth performance and serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens. A total of 192 one-d-old male broiler chicks (ROSS 308) were randomly allocated to 6 treatment groups, with 4 replicates (8 birds per replicate) in a randomized block design. Experimental treatments consisted of the basal diet without any additives (control diet), and the basal diet supplemented with prebiotic, probiotic or three levels of peppermint (10, 15 and 25 g/kg). The results showed that the feeding different levels of peppermint significantly reduced feed intake during the whole experimental period (P <0.05). In the finisher period, the highest body weight gain was observed in the chicks fed diet supplemented with different levels of peppermint and the best feed conversion ratio were found in the chicks fed diets containing 15 and 25 g/kg peppermint (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in serum levels of glucose, total protein and HDL-cholesterol among dietary treatments. However, all experimental diets decreased the serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels compared with control diet (P<0.05). Additionally, LDL-cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the birds fed different levels of peppermint compared with control birds (P<0.05). The results of the present study suggest that different levels of peppermint could promote growth and health benefits compared with control diets and from an economic perspective, the level of 15g/kg of peppermint can be considered as an alternative to antibiotic growth-promoters in broiler production.