Effect of Aloe vera and vitamin E supplementation on the immune response of broilers ¤

Background: herbs are among the feed supplements under investigation that could replace antibiotics to improve humoral and cellular immune response in birds. Objective: this study evaluated the potential of Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) and vitamin E as immunostimulants on humoral and cellular immune responses in broilers. Methods: broilers were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments: a negative control (basal diet + with no additive), basal diet + 1% Aloe vera gel in drinking water, and basal diet + 100 mg/Kg vitamin E in the feed. Antibody titers against sheep red blood cells and Newcastle disease virus were used to examine the humoral immune response, whereas cellular immune response was evaluated using the phytohemagglutinin-P ¤ To cite this article: Darabighane B, Mahdavi A, Aghjehgheshlagh FM, Zarei A, Kasapidou E, Nahashon SN. Effect of Aloe vera and vitamin E supplementation on the immune response of broilers. Rev Colomb Cienc Pecu 2017; 30:159-164. • Corresponding author: Babak Darabighane. Department of Animal Science, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Daneshgah Street, Ardabil, Iran. Tel.: +98-45-33512081. E-mail: [email protected] Short Communication