Response of Laying Hens to Aqueous Extracts of Petiveria alliacea Root and Leaf

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the response of laying hens to aqueous extracts of Petiveria alliacea root and leaf. A total of 288 eighteen-week-old Isa brown pullets were used for the 25-week study. The pullets were arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial experimental layout in a completely randomized design. The pullets were distributed into two groups administered root extract or leaf extract. Pullets in each group were allotted to four subgroups administered aqueous extracts of Petiveria alliacea at 15, 30 and 45 g l–1 concentration levels making eight treatments in total. Each treatment was replicated three times with twelve pullets per replicate. Eimeria oocyst counts and intestinal bacteria counts were lower (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0028, respectively) in hens administered 15, 30 and 45 g l–1 of Petiveria alliacea extracts than the control. The highest (P < 0.0001) antibody titre against Newcastle disease vaccine was recorded in hens administered 30 and 45 g l–1 concentrations of root (9.06 and 9.10 log2, respectively) and leaf (9.08 and 9.18 log2, respectively) extracts. The liver sections of hens in all treatments appeared normal. In conclusion, aqueous extract of Petiveria alliacea root and leaf at 30 and 45 g l–1 concentrations performed best as antimicrobial and immune stimulating agent without impairing liver health.