Replacement of canola meal with Moringa oleifera leaf powder affects performance and immune response in broilers

Moringa oleifera is known as a miracle tree due to its amazing nutritional and therapeutic properties. Considering its nutritional value, Moringa oleifera leaf powder can be used as a non-conventional ingredient in poultry diets. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the replacement of canola meal (CM) with Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP) on growth performance, blood hematology, and immune response in broilers. Two-hundred-twenty one-day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were reared in one group for a wk (adaptation period). At 8 d of age, 150 chicks of similar body weight (+/- 5g) were selected and randomly divided into 15 experimental units, each comprising 10 chicks. These experimental units were further allocated to 5 treatment groups that were fed Ration A (control), B, C, D, and E, containing 8% CM and 0% MOLP, 6% CM and 2% MOLP, 4% CM and 4% MOLP, 2% CM and 6% MOLP, and 0% CM and 8% MOLP, respectively. The experimental diets were fed to the broilers for a period of 31 d. The results of the present study suggest that replacement of CM with MOLP as a vegetable protein source can enhance the immune response to Newcastle disease and infectious bursal disease vaccination without any change in weight gain, body organ weight, and blood hematology in broilers. The results also indicate that replacement of CM with MOLP results in higher feed intake with some negative effects on FCR in broilers.