NE US
Academic Publishers
Advances in Animal and Veterinary Sciences
November 2017 | Volume 5 | Issue 11 | Page 449
INTRODUCTION
Te unfavourable efect of chemical products especially
antibiotics led to the use of natural products like phyto-
genics to improve the efciency of feed utilization and
growth performance of poultry (Adil et al., 2015). Te use
of phytogenics as feed additives is gaining importance due
to their antimicrobial and stimulatory efects on digestive
system ( Jamroz et al., 2003; Jang et al., 2004). Tey include
herbs, spices or plants that are used to keep the gut mi-
crofora of poultry normal, which is a prerequisite for cost
efcient and ecofriendly poultry production ( Windisch
and Kroismayr, 2006). It has been estimated that there are
250,000-500,000 species of plants on earth (Borris, 1996).
Relatively, a small percentage (1-10%) of these is used as
food by both humans and other animal species (Cowan,
1999). Compared with synthetic antibiotics or inorganic
chemicals, these plants and their derived products have re-
Research Article
Abstract | A study was conducted to evaluate the efect of dietary supplementation of Mint leaves (Mentha piperita)
with or without enzyme treatment on blood chemistry, carcass characteristics and sensory attributes of broiler chicken
production. 225 day old commercial broiler chicks reared together until 7 days of age. On 8th day, the chicks were
individually weighed, distributed randomly into 5 treatment groups of 3 replicates with 15 chicks each for a period
of 42 days of age. Birds in the control group (T1) were fed diets without additives, whereas in T2 and T3 basal diet
was supplemented with raw mint leaves @ 1% (T2) and 2% (T3). In T4 and T5, enzyme treated mint leaves @ 1%
and 2% were added to the basal diet respectively. At the end of experimental period, blood biochemistry, carcass
characteristics and sensory attributes were recorded. Te results revealed that there was no signifcant (P>0.05) efect
on serum glucose, total protein, cholesterol, SGPT and SGOT levels of birds fed diets either supplemented with raw
or enzyme treated mint leaves both at 1 and 2% levels when compared with the group of birds fed control diet. Further,
various carcass characteristics viz. feather loss, evisceration loss, giblets, shank, head and dressing % in the groups fed
raw or enzyme treated 1 and 2% mint leaves showed a non signifcant (P>0.05) diference compared to control group.
Moreover, no efect (P>0.05) on various sensory attributes and the overall acceptability of meat among the various
treatment groups and control group was observed. In conclusion, the dietary inclusion of raw or enzyme treated mint
leaves had no negative efect on the health of birds as could be fgured out from the normal SGPT and SGOT levels
of birds.
Keywords | Broiler chicken, Blood biochemistry, Carcass characteristics, Mentha piperita, Sensory attributes
A. KHURSHEED
1
, M.T. BANDAY
1
, A.A. KHAN
1
, S. ADIL
1*
, A.M. GANAI
2
, I.U. SHEIKH
1
, A.H. SOFI
3
Efect of Mint Leaves with or without Enzyme Supplementation on
Blood Biochemistry, Carcass Characteristics and Sensory Attributes
of Broiler Chicken
Editor | Kuldeep Dhama, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Received | August 12, 2017; Accepted | August 27, 2017; Published | October 16, 2017
*Correspondence | S. Adil, Department of Livestock Production and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-K, Shuha-
ma, Srinagar-190006, India; Email: aadilsheikh5@gmail.com
Citation | Khursheed A, Banday MT, Khan AA, Adil S, Ganai AM, Sheikh IU, Sof AH (2017). Efect of mint leaves with or without enzyme supplementation
on blood biochemistry, carcass characteristics and sensory attributes of broiler chicken. Adv. Anim. Vet. Sci. 5(11): 449-455.
DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.aavs/2017/5.11.449.455
ISSN (Online) | 2307-8316; ISSN (Print) | 2309-3331
Copyright © 2017 Khursheed et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
1
Department of Livestock Production and Management;
2
Department of Animal Nutrition;
3
Department of Live-
stock Products Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of
Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shuhama, Srinagar-190006, India