RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Medicinal herbs as classes of additives to poultry feeds have proven to be beneficial due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. OBJECTIVE: A 6-week study was conducted to assess the effects of Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis M.) as an alternative to antibiotics on the growth performance, carcass traits and haemato-biochemical parameters of broiler chickens. METHODS: A total of 240 unsexed commercial broiler chickens, 2 weeks old, were randomly allocated to four treatments: T1 (negative control), T2 (positive control, 1 g/L oxytetracycline), T3 (0.5% Aloe vera gel extract) and T4 (1% Aloe vera gel extract) in a completely randomised design (CRD), with six replicates of 10 birds per replicate. The Aloe vera gel extract was administered in fresh drinking water. RESULTS: The results revealed across all the treatment groups, no significant (p > 0.05) differences were found in terms of growth performance and carcass traits. However, the mortality rate was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the positive control and the Aloe vera groups compared to the negative control. Total cholesterol, total glucose, and high-density lipoprotein values for the experimental groups (T3 and T4) were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those of the control groups. The values for red blood cell count, haemoglobin content, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration for the birds treated with Aloe vera gel were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those of the control groups. CONCLUSIONS: It is therefore concluded that the addition of Aloe vera gel extracts up to 1% in the drinking water could replace antibiotics in broiler chickens without any adverse effects on the health status and the performance of birds.
