Influence of dietary supplemented medicinal plants mixture (Ziziphora, Oregano and Peppermint) on performance and carcass characterization of broiler chickens

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of ‌‌Ziziphora (Thymyus valgaris), Oregano ‌(Oreganum valgare) and Peppermint (LamiaceaeMentha‌ piperita) on performance [feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR)] and carcass characterization of broiler chickens. 240 ROSS strain broiler chicks were selected and divided into 4 treatments and 3 replicates based on completely randomized design. The groups comprised group 1 or control (fed basal diet, without medicinal plant supplementation), group 2 (fed 1%‌‌ Ziziphora, 0.5% Oregano and 0.5% Peppermint), group 3 (fed 1%‌‌ Oregano, 0.5 Ziziphora and 0.5% Peppermint) and group 4 (fed 1%‌‌ Peppermint, 0.5% Ziziphora and 0.5% Oregano). Significant effects of dietary medicinal plants mixture on performance and carcass quality were observed (P<0.05). The highest feed intake (163.53 g) was recorded for group 2, while the highest daily weight gain (166.53 g), best feed conversion ratio (FCR: 1.91), highest carcass yield (70.76% of body weight), lowest abdominal fat (2.34%) and lowest gastrointestinal weight (6.34%) were recorded for group 3, in comparison with other experimental groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 2% from this combination of medicinal plants (1%‌‌ Oregano, 0.5% Ziziphora and 0.5% Peppermint) caused performance and carcass quality improvement via more weight gain increase in carcass yield and then decreases abdominal fat deposition.   Key words: Dietary supplementation, medicinal plants, carcass characterization, broiler chickens.