Supplementation of silymarin and chromium picolinate as feed additives inbroilers enhances antioxidant status, liver, and kidney function

The present investigation aimed to explore the impact of supplementation of silymarin (SM) and chromium picolinate (CP) as feed additives on the antioxidant status, along with liver, and kidney function of broilers. One hundred eighty day-old (mixed-sex) broiler chicks (Cobb 400) were used for the current study. The chicks were allocated in a completely randomized design in 4 treatments groups with 3 replicates per treatment, and 15 chicks in each replicate. The basal diet of control (CON) was supplemented with silymarin (500 mg/kg feed) as milk thistle powder (SM500), chromium (400 μg/kg feed) (Cr400), and a combination of SM (500 mg/kg feed) and chromium (400 μg/kg feed) (SM500+Cr400), from day old to 42 days of the experiment. Activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase (CAT), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were observed to be higher in the treatment groups supplemented either with SM (500 mg/kg), CP (400 μg/kg) alone, or in combination as compared to the control group. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) level declined (P<0.05) in the treatment groups, but the decline was more pronounced in the SM500+CP400 group compared to all other groups. Blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase were declined, however, total protein, albumin, and globulin levels were increased in the broilers that fed SM (500 mg/kg) and CP (400 μg/kg). The present study concluded that the addition of silymarin and chromium in the diet of broilers improved antioxidant status and kidney and liver function, which might have increased the productive performance of broilers.