Effect of supplementing moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf meal and pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel meal on performance, carcass attributes, immune and antioxidant responses in broiler chickens S. V. Rama Rao A,B , M. V. L. N. Raju A , B. Prakash A , U. Rajkumar A and E. P. K. Reddy A A ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad 500030, Telangana, India. B Corresponding author. Email: svramarao1@gmail.com Abstract. An experiment was conducted to study the benefits of dietary supplementation of moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf meal (MLM) and pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel meal (PPM) on the performance, carcass attributes, immune and antioxidant responses in commercial broiler chickens during 1–42 days of age. In total, 450 Cobb-400 broiler male chicks raised in wire-floor stainless-steel battery brooder pens in an open-side poultry house were divided into five experimental groups with 18 replicates of five chicks each and fed a standard control diet (CD) and the test diets supplemented with MLM (500 and 1000 mg/kg) or PPM (250 and 500 mg/kg), each at two different concentrations. Bodyweight gain, feed conversion efficiency and carcass attributes were not affected (P > 0.05). The cell-mediated immune response to phytohaemagglutinin phosphate was not influenced (P > 0.05), but the antibody titre against Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine was significantly (P < 0.05) improved by supplementation of MLM or PPM in broiler diet at 42 days of age. However, at 21 days of age, the ND titre was similar in broilers fed CD and 500 mg/kg PPM fed group. Activities of glutathione reductase and super oxide dismutase in liver were not influenced (P > 0.05), while lipid peroxidation (LP) reduced significantly (P < 0.05) with the herbal additives. The LP in the PPM group was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than that in groups fed MLM. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) was significantly (P < 0.05) improved in the PPM group. Activities of antioxidant enzymes (super oxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, GSHPx) in spleen were not influenced (P > 0.05). The degree of LP in the 500 mg/kg PPM group was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than that in groups fed the CD. It is concluded that supplementation of MLM (500 and 1000 mg/kg) or PPM (250 and 500 mg/kg) in diets improved humoral immune response (against ND vaccine) at 42 days of age and reduced LP in liver in commercial broilers, without showing any negative effects on performance and carcass attributes. Supplementation of PPM (250 and 500 mg/kg) significantly improved the activity of GSHPx in the liver of broiler chickens. Additional keywords: antioxidant, CMI response, glutathione peroxidase, lipid peroxidation, ND titre, superoxide dismutase. Received 12 June 2017, accepted 27 October 2017, published online 12 September 2018 Introduction Industrial poultry farming in many tropical countries includes rearing of chicken in open-sided poultry houses. Any deviations in environmental variables (temperature and humidity) will induce stress and compromise immune responses in chicken, ultimately leading to reduced performance. Dietary modulations are one of the proven approaches to minimise the ill effects of environmental stress on production and protection variables in chicken. Optimisation of amino acid concentration (Torki et al. 2015), supplementation of vitamins (Kutlu 2001; Imik et al. 2012), organic trace minerals (Rama Rao et al. 2012, 2016) and osmolytes (Rama Rao et al. 2011; Azad et al. 2013) is known to reduce the ill effects of heat stress on chickens. Feed additives from plant origin have been gaining more acceptability in recent times, both in human health practices and livestock production, owing to several benefits associated with the natural compounds. Moringa (Moringa oleifera) and pomegranate (Punica granatum) plants have several active compounds that may help the birds in combating stress. Moringa oleifera is a fast- growing, drought-resistant tree and one of the widely cultivated species of the genus Moringa in tropical and subtropical areas. It possesses important medicinal properties (Nickon et al. 2003). The Moringa leaf meal (MLM) was reported to have an antioxidant effect, which was attributed to the polyphenols, tannins, anthocyanin, glycosides and thiocarbamates (Luqman et al. 2012). Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a deciduous shrub widely cultivated in Mediterranean and South Asian region. India is one of the leading countries in pomegranate CSIRO PUBLISHING Animal Production Science https://doi.org/10.1071/AN17390 Journal compilation Ó CSIRO 2018 www.publish.csiro.au/journals/an