Effects of different levels of artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) powder and vitamin E on performance and immune system response of broiler chickens

A study was designed to investigate the effects of different levels of artichoke (Cynara scoolymus L.) powder on performance and humoral immune response of broiler chickens from 0-42 days of age. A total of 300 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly allocated to four treatments consisting of five replications with 15 chicks each. The groups were assigned to receive the treatment diets as follows: basal diet (control group) and control diet supplemented with 1. 5% and 3% artichoke powder and 300 mg vitamin E. Body weight (BW)، body weight gain (BWG)، feed intake (FI)، and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined during the whole experimental period. The serum antibody level against Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) was measured by hemagglutination-inhibition test (HI) in two periods after vaccination during days 14 and 28 and carcass traits of broilers were evaluated at the end of experiment. Results showed that، the titer against Newcastle virus at 42 days of age showed significant difference among treatments، the highest titer was found for the treatment containing 1. 5% of the artichokes (p<0. 05). Weight of internal organs، except pancreas weight، did not differ among treatments. Generally، this study showed the positive impact of artichoke on immune system of broiler chickens. Therefore it can be used in poultry nutrition.