Effect of dietary dried or fresh ground garlic on growth performance and pulmonary hypertensive response in broiler chickens fed on high energy diets and reared at high altitude

Two hundred and forty male day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments including: a corn-soybean meal basal diet (control); basal diet + 0.25% garlic powder; basal diet + 0.25% fresh ground garlic; basal diet + 0.5% garlic powder; basal diet + 0.5% fresh ground garlic. Feed intake (FI), body weight gains (BWG), and feed conversion ratios (FCR) were recorded periodically. On day 42, two chickens form each replicate were randomly selected, and after blood sample collection via brachial vein, euthanized and visceral organs, abdominal fat pad, heart, right ventricle, and total ventricles were weighed. Blood samples were used for measurement of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. Inclusion of garlic powder or fresh ground garlic into diet at the levels used in this experiment had no significant effect on FI, BWG, FCR, and carcass yield (p>0.05). However, Inclusion of 0.5% garlic powder into diet caused a significant increase in relative weight of bursa of Fabricius (p<0.05). Both levels of dietary fresh ground garlic (0.25% and 0.5%) caused a significant increase in serum MDA concentrations compared to control group (p<0.05). Dietary garlic powder at 0.25% inclusion rate caused a significant increase in serum NO concentration compared to control group (p<0.05). Overall, it is concluded that dietary garlic powder at the level of 0.25% would be advisable due to its desirable effects on NO concentrations.