L-Carnitine Supplementation, Individual or in Combination, on the Hematological Parameters of Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of ractopamine, coenzyme Q and L-carnitine, 10 individually and in combination, on the hematological parameters of broiler chickens. A total of 512 one day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly divided to eight treatment groups. Each group had four replicates with 16 birds per each. Treatments were assigned as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement based on completely randomized design, with two levels of ractopamine (0 and 10 mg/kg), coenzyme Q (0 and 40 mg/kg) 10 and L-carnitine (0 and 200 mg/kg). Blood was collected at day 42 of age and hematological parameters were measured. Hemoglobin content, red blood cell counts, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and white blood cell counts were not differ (P>0.05) among chicks fed different treatments. Dietary coenzyme Q + L-carnitine supplementation reduced (P<0.05) packed cell 10 volume, which is a positive effect as it relates to ascite. Based upon these results, the addition of ractopamine, coenzyme Q and L-carnitine to broiler diet, individually or in combination, had no effect on hematological 10 parameters of broiler chickens.