Histopathology of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with Prosopis africana (African mesquite) essential oil

This study was carried out to investigate the hepatic histopathology of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with Prosopis africana (African mesquite) essential oil (PRSO). 300, 1-day old broiler chicks were randomly distributed into six treatments with 5 replicates consisting of 10 birds each. Birds in diet 1 (D1) was fed basal diet supplemented with 0 % PRSO, D2: basal diet with 1.0 g/kg-1 oxytetracycline, D3, D4, D5 and D6 were fed basal diet supplemented with PRSO at 200 mg, 400 mg, 600 mg and 800 mg/kg-1 respectively. The experiment lasted for 56 days and a completely randomized design was adopted. Phyto-constituents of PRSO revealed the presence of tannins (201.21 mg/g-1), flavonoids (677.83 mg/g-1), alkaloids (405.90 mg/g-1), saponins (75.62 mg/g-1), phenols (508.28 mg/g-1), phytates (20.10 mg/g-1) and oxalates (5.26 mg/g-1). Hepatic histopathology showed that tissues from D1, D3, D4, D5 and D6 showed no signs of any damage; the central vein, blood portal vessels showed no congestion. Mild hepatocellular damage was recorded among liver of birds in D2. It can be concluded that Prosopis africana essential oil are among the key alternative solutions to antibiotics because they contain bioactive compounds that are safe, effective and performs multiple biological functions in the body of animals.