EFFECT OF USING THYME (THYMUS VULGARIS L) AND CUMIN (CUMINUM CYMINUM L) SEEDS FOR IMPROVING THE UTILIZATION OF LOW ENERGY BROILER DIET By

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of using thyme (Thymus vulgaris L; TH) or cumin (Cuminum cyminum L; CC) seeds either alone or in combination (at two levels 0.15 or 0.30% of each) to improve the utilization of the low energy broiler diet (LE), containing 2890 kcal ME/kg diet at grower period and 3026 kcal ME/kg diet at finisher period. The diets were formulated to be nearly iso-nitrogenous (22% and 18% CP) at grower and finisher periods, respectively. While, the control diet contained 3090 kcal ME/kg diet at grower period and 3227 kcal ME/kg diet at finisher period, it was supplied with required nutrients to satisfy the recommended requirements of Arbor Acres broilers. A total number of 180, nine days-old of unsexed Arbor Acres broiler chicks were distributed into 6 treatments of 30 chicks each in three replicates. Main results obtained can be summarized as follows: Chicks fed low energy diet supplemented with mixture of (0.15% TH and 0.15% CC) recorded an equal growth performance to chicks fed the control diet. However, they recorded lower values of plasma total protein, albumin and uric acid and higher values of carcass%, total edible parts % and total plasma antioxidants capacity. Significant differences were observed between the different experimental treatments in BWG (at the overall period), plasma total lipids, plasma total protein and plasma uric acid levels. However, there were insignificant differences between treatments for carcass characteristics, except for the values of carcass % and total edible parts %. Chicks fed low energy diet supplemented with mixture of (0.30% TH and 0.30% CC) recorded the lowest value of abdominal fat as compared to other treatments (P> 0.05). The addition of TH, CC either alone or a mixture of them to LE diet increased total plasma antioxidants capacity as compared to the control diet. Supplementation of a mixture of (0.15% TH and 0.15% CC) to the low energy diet improved the economical efficiency by 5.79 % as compared to the control diet. In conclusion, chicks fed on low energy diet supplemented with a mixture of 0.15% thyme and 0.15% cumin gave an equal performance to control diet without negative effects on performance criteria.