Research Article

Single and Combined Effect of Plant Extracts (Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum) on Growth Performance of Broilers

Mohammed Jard Kadhim*, Mohanad K. Ulsagheer

Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al-Musaib Technical College, Department of Animal Production Techniques, Babel, Iraq.

Received | September 25, 2024; Accepted | January 20, 2025; Published | February 21, 2025

*Correspondence | Mohammed Jard Kadhim, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al-Musaib Technical College, Department of Animal Production Techniques, Babel, Iraq; Email: [email protected]

Citation | Kadhim MJ, Ulsagheer MK (2025). Single and combined effect of plant extracts (Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum) on growth performance of broilers. J. Anim. Health Prod. 13(1): 118-123.

DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.jahp/2025/13.1.118.123

ISSN (Online) | 2308-2801

Copyright © 2025 Kumar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright: 2025 by the authors. Licensee ResearchersLinks Ltd, England, UK.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

INTRODUCTION

Certain therapeutic plants have gained significant attention in recent years as alternatives to antibiotics in poultry feed, which were traditionally used to enhance growth and improve digestive efficiency (Kadhim, 2023; Ajafar et al., 2024). The use of antibiotics, however, has been shown to negatively impact both animal and human health, contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance. As a result, research has increasingly focused on finding natural, plant-based alternatives (Miles et al., 2006; Salman et al., 2024). Among these alternatives, medicinal plants have been incorporated into poultry feed, helping to enhance the immunity of chicks against diseases (Rahmatnejad et al., 2009; Al-Jebory et al., 2024).

Ocimum sanctum extract has been added to poultry feed due to its positive effects on growth (Bishnu et al., 2009) and its benefits for animal and human health. This plant contains antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds, with reported properties such as antifertility, anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, and antioxidant effects (Joshi et al., 2009; Subramanian et al., 2005). The increased antioxidant capacity observed in broiler chickens may be due to the high levels of flavonoids found in Ocimum sanctum at higher inclusion rates (Swathi et al., 2005).

Silybum marianum, also known as milk thistle, is another medicinal plant from the Asteraceae family, which contains a variety of bioactive compounds, including flavonoids. The key active components of Silybum marianum include Silibin, Silymarin, Taxifolin, and Quercetin (Fraschini et al., 2002). This plant has become increasingly popular in animal nutrition (Stastnik et al., 2020). The seeds of Silybum marianum contain variable protein levels (160-300 g/kg) and many essential amino acids (Aziz et al., 2021). Additionally, the crude fat in Silybum marianum seeds has a beneficial fatty acid composition, particularly rich in oleic and linoleic acids (Majidi et al., 2021). Studies on Silybum marianum in broiler feeds have shown varying results. Some researchers found a decrease in weight gain when Silybum marianum oil was added to feed at 5 or 15% (Štastník et al., 2015). Similarly, Gharahveysi (2017) reported a decline in feed intake and body weight when 0.3% or 3% of ground Silybum marianum was included in the diet. However, Muhammad et al. (2012) observed that chickens fed with 10 g/kg of Silybum marianum showed improvements in body weight and feed conversion ratio.

The aim of this study was to investigate how the addition of Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum extracts, both separately and in combination, affected broiler chicken performance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Experimental Design and Treatments

An experiment was conducted for 35 days using 450 Ross 308 broiler chickens reared at the poultry farm of the Animal Production Department at Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University. The aim was to examine the effects of two plant extracts—Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum—added to the feed on various productive traits of the chickens. The chicks were divided into six experimental treatments, with three replicates per treatment, each consisting of 25 chicks. The treatments were as follows:

• Treatment 1 (T1): Control (no additives).
• Treatment 2 (T2): Ocimum sanctum extract at 5 g/kg of feed.
• Treatment 3 (T3): Ocimum sanctum extract at 10 g/kg of feed.
• Treatment 4 (T4): Silybum marianum extract at 5 g/kg of feed.
• Treatment 5 (T5): Silybum marianum extract at 10 g/kg of feed.
• Treatment 6 (T6): Combination of Treatments 2 and 4 (5 g/kg Ocimum sanctum + 5 g/kg Silybum marianum).

The chicks were fed a starter diet with 23% protein and 3027 kcal/kg energy content from day one until week 3. After week 3, the chicks were switched to a final diet with 20% protein and 3196 kcal/kg energy content, which continued until the end of the experiment at week 5. Water and feed were provided ad libitum, and all ideal growth conditions, including temperature, ventilation, and relative humidity, were maintained.

Weekly measurements were taken for various productive parameters, including feed intake, feed conversion ratio, live body weight, and weight gain per bird (Kadhim, 2023).

Data Analysis

Data were analyzed using a completely randomized design, and the SAS (2012) program was employed to assess significant differences using the mathematical model Yij = µ + Ti + eij.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Live Body Weight

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effectiveness of plant extracts Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum as growth promoters in broiler chickens. The average live body weights (g) of the groups were recorded over the five-week experimental period, as shown in Table 1. According to the table’s results, there were no significant differences (P > 0.01) among the treatments for body weight during the first three weeks of age. However, in the fourth week, a significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed among the treatments, with treatments 5 and 6 performing better and showing a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared to the control group. The differences between treatments 2, 3, and 4 were smaller. The control group did not differ significantly from treatments 2, 3, and 4.

In the fifth week, the treatments showed significant differences (P < 0.05). Treatments 5 and 6 outperformed the control group, as well as treatments 2, 3, and 4. However, there was a considerable difference between treatments 5 and 6 compared to treatments 2, 4, and the control group. The increase in body weight may be attributed to the antioxidant content in the plant extracts, which enhance digestive enzymes and reduce harmful bacterial activity, leading to improved body weight in broiler chicks.

 

Table 1: Single and combined effect of Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum extracts on the broiler’s live body weight (Mean ± Standard error).

Treatments	Live body weight g / chick
	Day one	1st Week	2nd Week	3rd Week	4th Week	5th Week
T1	43 ±1.07	192.56 ±3.44	460.2 ± 14.89	895.6 ±22.70	1493.6 ±31.19b	2017.4 ±88.97b
T2	43 ±1.22	187.48 ±2.73	461.6 ± 12.55	916.4 ±35.12	1589.2 ±47.88ab	2061.3 ±64.56b
T3	43 ±1.34	191.96 ±4.22	468.2 ± 17.12	920.7 ±32.80	1597.1 ±22.85ab	2178.6 ±91.87ab
T4	43 ±0.89	188.44 ±5.02	472.4 ± 16.22	915.2 ±22.86	1575.8 ±43.22ab	2049.6 ±45.77b
T5	43 ±1.05	191.8 ±3.68	478.2 ± 14.76	937.6 ±24.56	1614.3 ±66.23a	2240.8 ±56.43a
T6	43 ±1.24	189.44 ±4.77	474.8 ± 11.59	938.36 ±20.45	1602.8 ±11.49a	2234.2 ±38.19a
Significance	N.S.	N.S	N.S	N.S	**	**

 

T1: control; T2: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum; T3: 10 g/ kg of Ocimum sanctum; T4: 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum; T5: 10 g/ kg of Silybum marianum; T6: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum + 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum. ** Different letters refer to differ mean from each other within the same column (P≤ 0.01). N.S: Not Significant.

 

Table 2: Single and combined effect of Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum extracts on weight gain of broiler chickens (Mean ± Standard error).

Treatments	Weight gain g / chick
	1st Week	2nd Week	3rd Week	4th Week	5th Week
T1	149.56 ± 5.23	267.64 ± 20.43	435.4 ± 25.85	598 ± 50.32 b	523.8 ± 77.11b
T2	144.48 ± 3.65	274.12 ± 11.65	454.8 ± 38.95	672.8 ± 33.43 a	472.1 ± 34.59c
T3	148.96 ± 4.77	276.24 ± 18.80	452.5 ± 12.90	676.4 ± 61.82 a	581.5 ± 55.87b
T4	145.44 ± 6.18	283.96 ± 24.11	442.8 ± 11.63	660.6 ±23.41ab	473.8 ± 67.34c
T5	148.8 ± 2.34	286.4 ± 15.45	459.4 ± 33.75	676.7 ± 20.54 a	606.2 ± 30.46a
T6	146.44 ± 3.87	285.36 ± 11.23	463.56 ± 16.44	664.44 ±66.61ab	631.4 ± 80.65a
Significance	N.S	N.S	N.S	**	**

 

T1: control; T2: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum; T3: 10 g/ kg of Ocimum sanctum; T4: 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum; T5: 10 g/ kg of Silybum marianum; T6: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum + 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum. ** Different letters refer to differ mean from each other within the same column (P≤ 0.01). N.S: Not Significant.

 

The results of this study are consistent with those of Singh et al. (2014), who observed an improvement in the live body weight of broiler chickens. This improvement was attributed to the antibacterial properties of flavonoids in Ocimum sanctum, which help maintain normal intestinal bacteria through competitive exclusion. Similarly, Alom et al. (2015) found that adding 2 ml/l of Tulsi leaf extract (Ocimum sanctum) to the drinking water of broiler chickens significantly increased their live body weight during the third and fourth weeks of life.

Moreover, Janocha et al. (2021) reported that adding 2% Silybum marianum seeds in the starter diet and 3% in the grower diet significantly improved body weight in broilers by day 42 of rearing compared to the control group. In contrast, the findings of Suchí et al. (2008) did not align with ours, as they found that adding Silybum marianum to broiler feeds resulted in a statistically significant reduction in body weight.

Weight Gain

The weekly weight gain of the broiler chickens for each treatment is shown in Table 2. There were no significant differences in weight gain during the first, second, or third weeks. However, in the fourth week, significant differences (P ≤ 0.01) were observed in weight gain. Specifically, treatments 2, 5, and 3 outperformed the control group and the other treatments, while treatments 4 and 6 did not differ significantly from the other treatments. There was no noticeable difference between treatments 4 and 6 and the control group.

In the fifth week, treatments 6 and 5 showed the highest weight gain, followed by treatment 3. Treatments 2 and 4 exhibited the lowest weekly weight gain rates. The improvement in weight gain may be attributed to the presence of a variety of compounds in Silybum marianum leaves, including terpenes, flavonoids, saponins, resins, oils, and essential elements such as calcium, selenium, and phosphate, in addition to chlorophyll (Duke, 2004).

These results are consistent with those of Biswas et al. (2017), who found that broilers given 1 ml/liter of Ocimum sanctum extract in their drinking water showed numerically higher weight gain compared to the control group. Similarly, the findings align with Gawel et al. (2003), who administered a commercial preparation containing 80% silymarin at a dose of 0.5 kg/ton of feed to broilers. Their study revealed that the experimental groups had 4.8% higher final body weights than the control group.

Feed Intake

From Table 3, it is evident that weekly feed intake did not show significant differences between the first and second weeks of the trial. However, meaningful differences (P ≤ 0.05) were observed in the third week. In this week, treatment 5 had the lowest feed intake, followed by treatment 3, which did not differ significantly from the control treatment or the other treatments. Treatment 6 had the highest feed intake. A similar pattern was observed in the fourth and fifth weeks, where treatment 4 consumed the most feed, and treatment 5 had the lowest feed intake.

 

Table 3: Single and combined effect of Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum extracts on feed intake of broiler chickens (Mean ± Standard error).

Treatments	Feed intake g / chick
	1st Week	2nd Week	3rd Week	4th Week	5th Week
T1	214 ± 8.32	367.4 ± 13.63	546 ± 18.86a	710 ± 16.20 a	903 ±54.32ab
T2	216 ± 5.45	362.4 ± 24.81	552 ± 27.75a	734 ± 32.12 a	912 ± 66.91ab
T3	211 ± 3.66	359.2 ± 20.45	522 ±32.56ab	696 ±15.74ab	884 ± 18.37b
T4	214 ± 7.23	365.2 ± 11.40	565 ± 16.74a	731 ± 70.21 a	1001 ± 32.41a
T5	212 ± 6.23	355.4 ± 18.22	497 ± 30.33 b	685 ± 22.34 b	869 ± 16.44b
T6	210 ± 4.55	366.7 ± 9.98	571 ±42.15 a	722 ± 33.18 a	995 ± 51.64a
Significance	N.S	N.S	*	*	*

 

T1: control; T2: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum; T3: 10 g/ kg of Ocimum sanctum; T4: 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum; T5: 10 g/ kg of Silybum marianum; T6: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum + 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum. * Different letters refer to differ mean from each other within the same column (P≤ 0.05). N.S: Not Significant.

 

The improved weight gain in birds fed rations containing Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum extracts can be attributed to better feed utilization efficiency, which resulted in enhanced growth and better feed intake. Vasanthakumar et al. (2013) reported a significant increase in feed intake at 42 days of age when 0.1% Ocimum sanctum extract was added to the diet compared to the control group, which is consistent with the findings of our study. Similarly, Slyranda et al. (2011) reported that chicks receiving 100 mg of onion consumed more feed than the other groups during the 21-day experiment. This aligns with our results when 5 and 10 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum were added from 21 to 35 days of age.

Feed Conversion Ratio

The amount of meat stored in the body is influenced by the feed conversion rate of the feed provided to the broilers. Table 4 shows that there were no significant differences in feed conversion during the first and fourth weeks of life. However, in the second week, significant differences (P ≤ 0.01) were observed, with the best feed conversion ratio found in the treatments supplemented with plant extracts, particularly in treatments 4, 5, and 6. The control treatment had the poorest feed conversion ratio, and there were no significant differences between treatments 2 and 3.

 

Table 4: Single and combined effect of Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum extracts on the broiler’s feed conversion ratio (Mean ± Standard error).

Treatments	Feed conversion ratio / chick
	1st Week	2nd Week	3rd Week	4th Week	5th Week
T1	1.43 ± 0.7	1.4 ± 0.18 a	1.25 ± 0.14 a	1.18 ± 0.20	1.72 ± 0.15 b
T2	1.49 ± 0.4	1.32 ± 0.6 ab	1.21 ± 0.14 a	1.09 ± 0.22	1.93 ± 0.14 b
T3	1.41 ± 0.5	1.3 ± 0.11 ab	1.15 ± 0.18 ab	1.02 ± 0.32	1.52 ± 0.15 c
T4	1.47 ± 0.5	1.28 ± 0.11 b	1.27 ± 0.14 a	1.1 ± 0.31	2.11 ± 0.14 a
T5	1.42 ± 0.3	1.24 ± 0.6 b	1.08 ± 0.16 b	1.01 ± 0.17	1.43 ± 0.18 c
T6	1.43 ± 0.4	1.28 ± 0.7 b	1.23 ± 0.22 a	1.08 ± 0.14	1.57 ± 0.16 c
Significance	N.S	**	**	N.S	**

 

T1: control; T2: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum; T3: 10 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum; T4: 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum; T5: 10 g/kg of Silybum marianum;T6: 5 g/kg of Ocimum sanctum + 5 g/kg of Silybum marianum. ** Different letters refer to differ mean from each other within the same column (P≤ 0.01). N.S: Not Significant.

 

In the third week, a notable difference in feed conversion was observed, with treatment 5 showing the best feed conversion, followed by treatment 3. The control, treatments 2, 4, and 6 had the worst feed conversion ratios. By the fifth week, treatments 5, 3, and 6 demonstrated superior feed conversion compared to the control and other treatments, which had the lowest feed conversion ratios.

These results are consistent with those of Janocha et al. (2021), who found that adding Silybum marianum at 2% and 3% in feed rations led to the highest body weight and the best feed conversion ratio. Similarly, Ahmad et al. (2020) reported that a feed conversion ratio and final body weight were significantly (P < 0.05) better in rations containing 15 g/kg of Silybum marianum compared to other experimental groups. Furthermore, Alina et al. (2021) found that incorporating Silybum marianum into the feed during the rearing period resulted in a significant increase in body weight on the 42nd day (P < 0.05) and a marked improvement in feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05) when compared to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The single application of Silybum marianum at 10 g/kg of feed and the combined application of Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum at 5 g/kg of each extract resulted in the best production performance at the marketing age of broiler chickens.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We acknowledge the support of time and facilities from Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al-Musaib Technical College, Department of Animal Production Techniques for this study.

NOVELTY STATEMENT

Most previous studies have focused on the supplementation of plant extracts (Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum) on the growth performance of broilers. However, our study is novel in that it only focuses on the effects of Single and combined effects of plant extracts (Ocimum sanctum and Silybum marianum)

AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTIONS

Mohammed Jard Kadhim: Research design; Data analysis; Methodology; Validation; Investigation; Mohanad K. Ulsagheer: Writing- original draft preparation; Writing—review and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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