The effect of Lemon (Citrus aurantifulial) pulp Ethanolic extract on performance, immune system and blood parameters of broiler chickens

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of adding Ethanolic lemon pulp extract (ELPE) to drinking water of broiler chickens on performance, immune system and blood serum parameters. We used 450 male and female day-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) allocated in a completely randomized design with five treatments, five replications and 18 chicks per each. Treatments include no ELPE (control), 0.4, 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6 percent ELPE in drinking water from 2d until the end of experiment. Adding ELPE to drinking water did not have any effect on feed intake, average daily gain and Feed conversion ratio. The highest amount of IgM and the lowest amount of IgY belonged to group that fed 1.6 percent ELPE. ELPE treatments significantly increased response to Phytohemagglutinin-M (PHA-M) injection compared to control group. The levels of triglyceride, low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein were significantly lower in 0.8 and 1.6 percent ELPE treatments compared to other groups (P