Effects of dietary supplementation of an oleuropein-enriched olive leaf extract on performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal health, foot pad parameters and meat quality of broilers

Incorporating agricultural by-products into animal diets represents a sustainable strategy to enhance animal health and product quality. Olive leaves, rich in bioactive compounds such as oleuropein, exhibit notable antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with an environmentally friendly, oleuropein-enriched OLE (OLE) on broiler chickens. A total of 480 day-old chicks were randomly assigned to four groups: a control diet - CF (T1), CF + 1 % OLE (T2), CF + 2.5 % OLE (T3), and CF + 0.1 % encapsulated oregano oil (T4, positive control). Over 42 days, growth performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal morphology, foot pad health, and meat quality were assessed. While T4 showed superior growth performance, the 1 % OLE diet significantly improved intestinal morphology and meat quality. A dose-dependent yellow pigmentation of the foot pad was observed in OLE-treated groups. Additionally, breast tenderness and darker thigh coloration improved in OLE-fed broilers. These findings suggest that 1 % OLE can be a viable natural additive to support gut health and meat quality in broilers, with comparable antioxidant effects to oregano oil and no adverse outcomes.