Vet World   Vol.10   June-2017  Article-1

Efficacy of early chick nutrition with Aloe vera and Azadirachta indica on gut health and histomorphometry in chicks

Background and Aim: This study was conducted with an aim of studying the efficacy of water supplements of Aloe vera and Azadirachta indica (neem) during pre-starter age (0-2 weeks) on gut health and histomorphometry in Vanaraja chicks.

Materials and Methods: A total of 192 day old Vanaraja chicks were randomly assigned to one of four herbal water treatments throughout the experimental pre-starter stage (0-2 weeks) in a completely randomized design. Each treatment was given four replicates consisting of 12 chicks per replicate. Water treatments comprised T1: Control with regular antibiotic supplement, T2: 3 ml Aloe juice per chick per day, T3: 3 ml neem extract per chick per day, T4: 1.5 ml Aloe and 1.5 ml neem per chick per day. Gut culture was done for Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus sps. and gut histomorphometry in 24 gut samples at 14 days of age.

Results: This study revealed that supplementation of A. vera and neem in water significantly (p<0.05) reduced and increased the number of gut E. coli and Lactobacillus sps. Colonies, respectively, as compared to that of control groups; Villi was significantly (p<0.05) taller and broader on 14 days of age across the jejunum of chicks fed with neem supplementation as compared to that of control chicks. Significantly lower crypt depth (p<0.05) was observed in the duodenum of Aloe supplementation. Villus height: Crypt depth ratio of duodenum and jejunum was significantly (p<0.05) increased neem and Aloe supplementation in chicks as compared to their combination and control.

Conclusion: Immediate post hatch supplementation of Aloe juice and neem extract in chicks improved the development and health of their gut. Keywords: Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, chicks, early chick feeding, gut health, histomorphometry.

Keywords: Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, chicks, early chick feeding, gut health, histomorphometry.

How to cite this article: Sujatha T, Abhinaya S, Sunder J, Thangapandian M, Kundu A (2017) Efficacy of early chick nutrition with Aloe vera and Azadirachta indica on gut health and histomorphometry in chicks, Veterinary World, 10(6): 569-573.

Received: 28-10-2016  Accepted: 13-04-2017     Published online: 01-06-2017

Corresponding author: Tamilvanan Sujatha   E-mail: drsujathaars@rediffmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2017.569-573

Copyright: Sujatha, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.