Effect of Dietary Black Cumin (Nigella sativa) on the Growth Performance, Nutrient Utilization, Blood Biochemical Profile and Carcass traits in Broiler Chickens

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of three different levels (0.50, 1.00 or 1.50%) of black cumin seeds (BCS) vis-a-vis an antibiotic growth promoter (enramycin) on the growth performance, nutrient utilization, blood biochemical constituents and carcass traits of broiler chicks. Day-old commercial broiler chicks (n=150) were distributed equally into five equal groups, each with three replicates of ten chicks. The chicks were placed on one of the dietary treatments i.e. basal diet without any supplement (CON) or 0.125% antibiotic growth promoter (enramycin;AGP), or three graded levels of BCS namely, 0.5% (BC5), 1.0% BC (BC10) and 1.5% (BC15). The effect of these supplements on weekly feed intake, weight gain and FCR and, serum metabolites were assessed in a 6-week study. At d28 and d42 of age, the AGP, BC10 and BC15 groups had significantly (P<0.05) greater BW gain accompanying improved feed efficiency than the BC5 and the CON group. The retention of DM and CP improved significantly (P<0.05) due to AGP and black cumin seed. Supplementation of higher levels of BCS (BC10 and BC15) resulted in an increase (P<0.05) in serum total protein and decrease (P<0.05) in total cholesterol values than the BC5, AGP or CON groups. The serum levels of glucose, calcium, phosphorus, uric acid, creatinine and enzymes (SGPT, SGOT and ALP) were unaffected (P>0.05) by the dietary treatments. Carcass traits like dressing yield, giblet weight, cooking loss, pH, shear force and proximate composition were also remained unaffected (P>0.05) by the dietary treatments, whereas, separable fat and meat cholesterol levels were significantly (P<0.05) reduced in broilers of BC10 and BC15 groups. It is concluded that dietary black cumin seed @1.0% can be used as a cholesterol-lowering agent and as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter in boiler chickens.