Antioxidants and Oxidants Status of Broiler Chicken Fed Garlic-and Ginger-Based Diets

Effects of ingesting garlic-and ginger-based diets were investigated on antioxidants and oxidants in broiler chickens. 120 day old chicks were used in the study. The chicks were brooded and similarly reared for four weeks to fully adjust them to their new environment. At the end of the first four weeks, the birds were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with 30 birds/treatment and 3 replicates of 10 birds/replicate as: T1(control diet, contained neither garlic nor ginger), T2 (ginger diet, contained 10g of ginger/kg of diet), T3 (garlic diet, contained 10g of garlic/kg of diet) and T4 (garlic and ginger diet, contained 5g of garlic + 5g of ginger/kg of diet). The birds received their respective experimental diets for 4 weeks (28 days). At the end of study, 9 birds from each treatment group composed of 3 birds from each replicate were slaughtered and their blood collected into non-ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) tubes for analyses for antioxidants and oxidants. Results showed that the T2, T3 and T4 animal groups had significantly (P<0.05) higher values of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) compared with T1 animal group. However, the T1 animal group had significantly (P<0.05) higher values of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) compared with the T2, T3 and T4 animals’ treatment groups. Furthermore, the T1 animal group had significantly (P<0.05) the highest levels of the oxidant malondialdehyde (MDA). It was concluded that animals of the T1 group experienced more of oxidative stress compared with the T2, T3 and T4 animal groups as MDA is an indicator of oxidative stress. Therefore, it was concluded that ginger and garlic use should be employed, particularly ginger at 10g of ginger/kg of diet for broiler chickens to optimize their productivity via protection of the bird against oxidative stress.