A comparison of the effects of immunopropophyte and antibiotic on the performance, intestinal microflora and immune system of broilers

In order to investigate the possibility of replacing antibiotics with a mixture of several plant extracts (Immunopropophyte), an experiment using 300 Ross 308 broilers in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 4 replications and 25 broilers per replication was performed for 42 days. Experimental diets were: basal diet, basal diet containing 0.02% of the antibiotic virginiamycin, and diets containing 0.1% of water-soluble immunopropophyte solution. The results showed that the difference in body weight and conversion ratio between the experimental groups in the periods of 22 to 42 and 1 to 42 days was significant so that the use of antibiotics and immunopropophytes improved these parameters compared to the control group (P<0.05). Feed intake did not show a significant difference between experimental treatments. Stimulation of the immune system by the treatments was evaluated in two stages and it was found that the antibody titer against SRBC and Newcastle in the treatments with antibiotics and immunopropophytes were higher than the control treatment (P<0.05). The use of antibiotics and immunopropophytes caused a significant reduction in abdominal fat compared to the control treatment (P<0.05). Immunopropophyte significantly decreased the bacterial population of E. coli and salmonella in ileocaecal part of broilers’ intestine (P<0.05). The results of this study showed that immunopropophytes can be used as an alternative to antibiotics in the diet of broilers without adversely affecting performance.