Effects of peppermint essential oils on carcass traits, immune parameters and antioxidant status in pre-slaughter feed deprived broiler chicks

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of peppermint essential oils on carcass traits, immune parameters and antioxidant status in pre-slaughter feed deprived broiler chicks. The 4×2 factorial experiment was managed in a completely randomized design with 320 broiler chicks in 8 treatments and 4 replicates of 10 birds each. Treatments included different levels of peppermint essential oils (0 and 200 mg/bird) and preslaughter fasting periods (0, 4, 8 and 12 h). The results showed that using of peppermint essential oils and preslaughter fasting periods on live weight loss in broiler chicks were not significant. The highest water uptake in broilers carcasses was obtained after 12 h of starvation (P<0.05). Using of peppermint essential oils significantly decreased hot and cold carcass weight (P<0.05). The effect of peppermint essential oils and preslaughter fasting periods on white blood cell count and antioxidant status were not significant. In conclusion, daily gavage of peppermint essential oils in broiler chickens had no positive effect on reducing the negative effects of pre-slaughter starvation.