title: Effect of a Chinese herb medicine formulation, as an alternative for antibiotics, on performance of broilers.
abstract: 1. A total of 720 female broiler chicks was used to test the effects of 4 dietary concentrations of a Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) formulation (0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2g/kg), as an alternative for virginiamycin (VRG), on growth performance in broilers. 2. A total of 72 birds from non-supplemented, VRG and 0.5 g/kg CHM groups was selected and killed and the relative weights of the intestinal segments were assessed. 3. The CHM dietary treatments produced increased body weight gain at 7 to 21 d of age but not at 21 to 28 d of age compared with the non-supplemented and VRG groups. The CHM groups had a higher feed intake and a higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) than the VRG group between 21 and 28 d. 4. The dissection results showed that the liver colour of the birds in the CHM group varied less between animals than that of the VRG and the non-supplemented groups. Neither CHM nor VRG had any significant effects on either liver or intestinal tract weights. 5. It was concluded that the birds of the CHM group had better growth performance from d 7 to 21 but not thereafter. Further experiments are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying enhanced growth performance by CHM in broilers.
authors.affiliation: Lab of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Pharmaceuticals CAAS, Lanzhou, China. fucun.guo@wur.nl
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Kwakkel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soede
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: M W A
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Verstegen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D002645:Chickens / Q000254:growth & development*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D007422:Intestines / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D014769:Virginiamycin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D014769:Virginiamycin