To investigate the effects of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L.) powder on performances, the concentration of some blood parameters and carcass characteristics of broilers, 160 one-day-old Ross chicks were used in the form of a completely randomized design with four treatm
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To investigate the effects of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L.) powder on performances, the concentration of some blood parameters and carcass characteristics of broilers, 160 one-day-old Ross chicks were used in the form of a completely randomized design with four treatments and four repetitions. Experimental treatments included the levels of zero (control), 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6% of pennyroyal powder. The treatment containing 0.6% of pennyroyal powder compared to the control group had higher feed consumption in the starter period (P <0.05). However, there was no significant difference during the growth period and the whole experimental period. In terms of average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio, there was no significant difference between the experimental treatments during the starter, growth and the whole experimental periods. The carcass percentage decreased significantly at the age of 42 days in treatments containing pennyroyal powder compared to the control group (P <0.05). There was no significant difference between experimental treatments in terms of weight percentage of carcass components including thigh, chest, abdominal fat, heart, liver, and gizzard. The concentration of triglycerides and plasma VLDL decreased significantly in treatments containing pennyroyal powder and decreased linearly compared to the control group (P <0.05). In terms of cholesterol and plasma HDL levels, a significant decrease was observed in treatment containing 0.4 level and treatment containing 0.2 percent of pennyroyal powder compared to the control group (P <0.05) respectively. Plasma LDL levels were not affected by experimental treatments. The results of the present study showed that the use of limited levels of pennyroyal powder up to 0.6% has no significant effect on the performance of broilers.
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