This study aims to shed light on the feasibility of using Echinacea purpurea (EP) in the diet of broiler chicks and its effectiveness in improving performance and health status. A total of 96 day old Cobb broilers were randomly allocated to 4 treatments, with 3 replicates per treatment and 8 birds each replicate. The experiment lasted 42 days. The dietary treatments administered were as follows: the first group served as the control and received the basal diet without any additional supplementation. The second, third and fourth groups received the basal diet supplemented with 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of EP, respectively. The results showed that supplementation of EP to the diet improved body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Addition of Echinacea has significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin, serum protein, albumin and globulin values. On the other hand, serum triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL were decreased while HDL increased. The activity of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was increased, while malondialdehyde (MDA) levels decreased. Echinacea addition significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased the percentage of carcass, heart weight and intestinal length, while it decreased the relative weight of abdominal fat in broiler chicks. Moreover, dietary supplementation of EP especially at 0.5 and 1.0%increased the relative weight of spleen, bursa and thymus. Adding 0.5% and 1.0% EP recorded higher net revenue and economic efficiency.
In conclusion, the results from this study indicated that addition of 0.5 and 1.0% Echinacea could be effectively used in the diet of broilers without any adverse effects. Moreover, the best result was obtained by supplementing 0.5% Echinacea which has a beneficial effect on the performance, physiological, immune status and economic return of broiler chicks.