Effect of feeding cottonseed meal on some hematological and serum biochemical parameters in broiler birds

AIM: The study was undertaken to find out the effect of feeding cottonseed meal (CSM) on performance of hematological and serum biochemical parameters in broiler birds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 6-week biological trial was carried out with 432-day-old Cobb 400 broiler chicks distributed to nine experimental diets with six replicates, each containing eight chicks. The experimental diets were formulated based on total amino acids (BTAA) or based on digestible amino acids (BDAA) with or without iron supplementation with two levels of CSM (2% and 4%) and control diet based on maize – soybean. The whole blood was subjected to hematological studies. The serum samples were analyzed for protein fractions and lipid profiles. RESULTS: The packed cell volume (PCV) value, red blood cell (RBC) numbers, and hemoglobin (Hb) were lower in iron unsupplemented CSM BTAA or BDAA diets than the control (33.86-35.54 vs. 36.41%, 2.78-2.87 vs. 2.98 × 10(6)/μl, and 10.30-10.70 vs. 10.88%). Supplementation of iron in CSM diets improved the PCV, RBC numbers, and Hb, and the values were comparable to the control. White blood cell numbers, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular Hb (MCH), and MCH concentration values were comparable to the control. The erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) was poor in birds fed diets containing up to 4% CSM BTAA or CSM BDAA without iron supplementation (32.02-32.57 vs. 28.77%). Supplementation of iron improved the EOF. The serum cholesterol level did not change with or without iron supplementation. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that feeding of CSM BTAA or BDAA up to 4% level voiding iron supplementation lowers the hematological parameters, whereas supplementation of iron did not alter serum protein fractions and cholesterol profile; however, it had lowered some hematological parameters, which was rectified by iron supplementation.