Effects of Dietary Supplementation of a Herbal Product (NBS Superfood) on Growth Performance, Intestinal Morphology, Immune Status and Blood Metabolites in Broiler Chickens

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary Nutrition Bio-Shield Superfood® (NBS) supplement on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune response, and blood metabolites in broiler chicks. A total of 360 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were used in a 42-d experiment. Based on a completely randomized design, the birds were allotted to 5 dietary treatments with 5 floor pen replicates of 12 birds each. Treatments included supplementation of 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 g/kg of NBS to a basal diet. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) during 25-42 d and 1-42 d were linearly improved (P ≤ 0.05) with increasing levels of dietary NBS. During these periods, FCR in groups that received 1 and 2 g/kg of NBS was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation of NBS at 1 and 1.5 g/kg of the diet increased serum IgM level compared to all other treatments. Villus height (VH) and VH to crypt depth (CD) ratio showed a quadratic response to the treatments (P = 0.05 and P = 0.04, respectively), decreasing with the supplementation of 1.5 and 1 g/kg of NBS, respectively. The thickness of the muscle layer in the jejunum was increased by 2 g/kg of NBS compared to the control group. Feeding NBS had no significant effect on carcass traits and blood metabolites. In general, dietary NBS supplementation improves FCR, immune status, and jejunum histomorphology in broiler chickens.