SERUM ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF BROILER CHICKENS FED DIETS CONTAINING VARIED LEVELS OF GARLIC (Allium sativum) BASED DIETS

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the serum antioxidant activity of broiler chickens fed diets containing varied levels of garlic supplementation. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) broiler finisher chickens of Cobb-500 strain were allocated to four isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets, each having ten chickens per replicate in a completely randomized design. Fresh garlic bulbs were chopped, dried and ground for dietary incorporation. Garlic was not supplemented in the control diet but in diets for treatments two, three and four at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% respectively. At the end of the 56- day feeding trial, two chickens were randomly selected from each replicate for the determination of lipid peroxidation and serum antioxidant activity (superoxide dismutase, catalase, malondialdehyde and glutathione peroxidase). Antioxidant activity was highest at 2% level of garlic supplementation while it was least in chickens fed the control diet. Lipid peroxidation significantly (P<0.05) reduced as the levels of garlic supplementation increased in the diets. The study concludes that garlic can be supplemented in broiler diets at 2.0% level of supplementation for its beneficial qualities to animal and human health.