Amelioration of heat stress induced oxidative damage in broilers by supplementing Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract during summer

An experiment was conducted to elucidate heat stress alleviating effect of supplementation of Ashwagandha extract (WS) on growth performance, carcass traits, stress parameters and intestinal E. coli counts in commercial broilers reared during hot summer. Day old broiler chicks (n=160) were randomly allocated to 4 groups consisting of 8 replicates with 5 chicks each from 1 to 42 day of age. The four groups were 1. Positive control (PC) (Basal diet +Vit-E 70mg/kg + Se 0.15 mg/kg), 2. Negative control (NC)-basal diet without antioxidant, 3. WS50 (Basal diet + 50 mg WS extract/kg diet) and 4. WS100 (Basal diet + 100mg WS extract/kg diet). Body weight gain, feed efficiency, feed intake, intestinal E. coli counts were affected (P