Effect of feeding different levels of Echinacea extract on growth performance, blood metabolites, immune system and cortisol secretion in Japanese quails

Abstract

Introduction: This experiment was performed to evaluate the different levels of Echinacea extract in drinking water on performance traits, blood metabolites and immune system in Japanese quail over a period of 35 days.
Materials & Methods: 400 quail chicks were used in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and 4 replications with 20 chicks per replication. Experimental treatments include 1- control diet without any additives of antibiotics and or herbs (negative control); 2- control diet plus antibiotic flavophospholipol 500 mg/kg (positive control); 3- control diet plus one ml of Echinacea extract in one liter of water; 4- control diet plus 2 ml of Echinacea extract in one liter of water; 5- control diet plus 3 ml of Echinacea extract in one liter of water. The traits tested included performance traits, blood metabolites, cortisol secretion, and immune system indices.
Results: The results showed that food intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio were not affected by the treatments. Among blood metabolites, only serum albumin was significantly affected by treatments (P<0.05). Cortisol and SRBC levels as well as IgG titer were
significantly affected by experimental treatments (P<0.05).
Conclusion: In general, it was shown that the addition of Echinacea extract to the water consumed by Japanese quails significantly stimulated the immune system and altered cortisol secretion; thus it seems this extract can be used to enhance the immunity of these birds.