Phytogenic modulation of broiler physiology: Effects of tulsi, moringa, mint, and thankuni on growth, meat quality, blood chemistry, and gut microbiota

The global poultry industry faces increasing challenges due to the widespread use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs), which, while effective in enhancing broiler performance, have been linked to antimicrobial resistance, residual antibiotics in meat, and adverse impacts on human health. This research investigates the efficacy of tulsi, moringa, mint, and thankuni as phytogenic feed additives in broiler diets, aiming to evaluate the growth performance, meat quality traits, blood parameters, lipid profiles, and gut microbial populations. A total of five groups were studied over 35 days: a control group and four treatment groups supplemented with tulsi, mint, moringa, and thankuni at a rate of 2 g/kg of feed. Indian River Meat broilers were fed a corn-soya mash diet during two phases: the starter phase (0-21 days) and the grower phase (22-35 days). Results showed that the tulsi-fed group significantly increased average daily gain (ADG) compared to the control (P = 0.001). Meat quality traits remained unchanged across treatments. Concerning meat color, the tulsi group exhibited the highest redness (a*) value (P = 0.05), with no significant differences in lightness (L*) or yellowness (b*). All phytogenic feed additives positively influence blood profiles, notably hemoglobin (Hb) (P = 0.05), total erythrocyte count (TEC) (P = 0.003), and packed cell volume (PCV) (P = 0.002), with thankuni showing the highest values. Lipid indices significantly improved in the tulsi group, with reductions in total cholesterol (TC) (P = 0.001), creatinine (CRE), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P = 0.01), along with increases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (P = 0.001) and total protein (TP) (P = 0.05) across all treatment groups. Additionally, caecal microbiota analysis revealed that the moringa group resulted in the lowest total viable count (TVC) and E. coli counts, along with the highest Lactobacillus population (P < 0.001). It can be concluded that phytogenic feed additives are promising alternatives to AGPs for improving broiler growth performance and health.