Performance and selected blood parameters of broiler chickens fed diets with skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi) root

One hundred and twenty one-day-old male broiler chickens were allocated into four groups, 5 replicates of 6 birds in each. Chickens were fed either a control diet or the same diet with the addition of 5, 10 or 15 g per kg of dried skullcap (Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi - SCR) root. The addition of 5 and 10 g SCR per kg diet had little effect on performance and blood parameters. In the group fed the diet with 15 g SCR, body weight gain, red blood cell count and haemoglobin level was higher (P < 0.05), while the HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol levels in blood serum (P < 0.05) were lower than in the control group. The glucose level in blood serum was variable, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase activities were similar, while alanine aminotransferase activity, higher (P < 0.05) in all groups fed diets with SCR than in the control group.