Livestock Research
Livestock Research | Online ISSN 3068-4625
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Volume 3 Number 1 2025
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Effects of Neem (Azadirechta Indica) and Thankuni (Centella Asiatica) Leaf Extract Supplementation on Growth Performance and Hematological Parameters in Antibiotic-free Broiler Production
Shamima Nasrin1, Md. Mehedi Hasan2, Md. Mazharul Islam2, S.M. Kamruzzaman2, Md. Shariful Islam2*
Livestock Research 3 (1) 1-8 https://doi.org/10.25163/livestock.3110505
Submitted: 29 June 2025 Revised: 11 September 2025 Accepted: 13 September 2025 Published: 15 September 2025
Abstract
This experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Neem (Azadirachta indica) and Thankuni (Centella asiatica) leaf extract supplementation in drinking water as a growth promoter in broiler chickens. A total of 120 day-old Cobb-500 broiler chicks were purchased from a local hatchery. After 7 days of acclimatization, chicks were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, T0 and T1, with 6 replicates of 10 birds per replicate. Birds under T0 were kept as an untreated control, and T1 was supplemented with Neem and Thakuruni leaf extract (2%) in water. Weekly observations were recorded for live body weight gain up to the 5th week, and hematological tests were performed at 30 days of age on broilers to search for hematological changes between the T0 and T1 groups. The results revealed that the initial body weight of the T0 and T1 on the 7th day of the experiment was 160±6.40 g and 162±7.80 g, respectively, and after 30 days of the experiment final body weight was 2216.3±23.71 and 2324.3±27.50 g, respectively. The net body weight gain was 2055.97±14.93 g and 2160.63±26.31 g, respectively. The findings revealed that live weight, live weight gain, feed consumption, and FCR were significantly (p<0.01) different in T1 than T0 after being supplemented with leaf extract. Furthermore, it was found that heart weight, gizzard weight, liver weight, spleen weight, and pancreas weight were significantly (p<0.01) higher in T1. The hematological parameters (Hb, ESR, and PCV) values of the T1 showed a significant (p<0.01) difference compared to the control group. From these findings of the present study, it can be concluded that Neem and Thankuni leaves extract play a significant role in the improvement of production performance in antibiotic-free broiler.
Keywords: Supplementation, Extract, Antibiotic-free, Broiler, Performance
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