Abstract

Hepatic damage in poultry occurs either due to metabolic or nutritional disturbances or chemical intoxication. The absence of reliable liver protective drugs and also consumption of broiler meat, limit us in usage of chemical hepatoprotective agents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the protective effects of CichoriumIntybus (CI) extract in paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in broiler chicks. One-day-old Ross chicken broilers were divided into four groups. One group was kept as normal and liver damage were induced in other 3 groups by oral administration of 1 ml/kg body weight of paracetamol for four successive days. Of 3 intoxicated groups one was kept as control and two different medicinal plants extracts were administered 0.2 g/kg of CI and 0.4 g/kg of CI extract. The medicinal plant was administered orally for 14 days after paracetamol administration. Then the blood samples were collected and the chicks sacrificed to histopathological examination. Serum liver markers and histopathological assessment of the livers revealed that Cichoriumintybus has protective activity against hepatic damage specially at a dose of 0.4 g/kg body weight and exhibited anti-hepatotoxic activity in broilers. The present study showed that administration of Cichoriumintybus extract at the doses of 0.2 g/kg/day and 0.4 g/kg/day respectively to Paracetamol intoxicated broilers, mitigates liver toxicity and liver histopathological changes.