Influence of Combination of Lemon Grass and Black Plum Leaf Meal on Haematological and Serum Biochemical Indices of Broiler Finisher Birds

Background and Objective: Maximizing the nutrients and bioactive components of different plant materials in a combined form is now becoming increasingly popular in dealing with the adverse effects of synthetic feed promotant and additives in farm animals, especially poultry birds. The objective is to assess the effect of the combination of lemongrass and black plum leaf meal on haematological and serum biochemical indices of broiler finishers. Materials and Methods: A total number of 120, four weeks old broiler birds were used for the research work. The experiment was conducted at the poultry unit of Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Four experimental diets were compounded with treatment 1 containing 0% lemon grass leaf meal and black plum leaf meal, which served as the control. Treatments 2, 3 and 4 contained lemon grass leaf meal and black plum leaf meal at the levels and ratios of 1:3, 2:2 and 3:1, respectively. Results: Packed cell volume was superior in treatment 4 (34.66%) while the lowest value of 28.86% was observed in treatment 1. Haemoglobin had a higher value of 12.05 g/dL in treatment 2 which differs from the value of 9.82 g/dL obtained in treatment 1. Results for white blood cells in treatment 2 with 257.47×10³/L were superior when compared to 235.34×10³/L observed in treatment 1. Total protein had a superior value of 3.45 g/dL in treatment 2 which did not differ from those in treatments 3 and 4 with 3.41 and 3.44 g/dL, respectively. Data for cholesterol had a descending order with the highest in treatment 1 (169.37 mg/dL) which differs from the lowest value of 153.35 mg/dL in treatment 4. Conclusion: Thus, the combination of lemongrass and black plum leaf meal is viable in broiler finisher birds in the ratio of 1:3, 2:2 and 3:1 without any negative effect on the health of the birds.