Table 5.

Effect of phytogenic feed additives (PHY) on liver enzymes (ALT and AST) activities, and kidney function tests (uric acid and creatinine levels) of thermoneutral, and heat-stressed broiler chickens

Parameters	TN	TN + PHY	HS	HS + PHY
ALT (U/l)	3.99 ± 0.28 b	3.74 ± 0.18 b	12.61 ± 0.79 a	4.33 ± 0.26 b
AST (U/l)	51.45 ± 2.27 b	39.0 ± 1.41 c	77.4 ± 2.2 a	57.2 ± 1.98 b
Uric acid (mg/dl)	3.35 ± 0.18 b	3.48 ± 0.25 b	8.06 ± 0.60 a	3.90 ± 0.13 b
Creatinine (mg/dl)	0.45 ± 0.04 b	0.38 ± 0.04 b	0.79 ± 0.03 a	0.5 ± 0.03 b

^{a, b, c} Means within a row with different superscripts significantly differ (Tukey’s test; P < 0.05)

TN (control): Thermoneutral treatment, fed basal diet; TN + PHY: Thermoneutral treatment fed basal diet + 1 kg/ton feed PHY; HS: Heat stress treatment, fed basal diet; HS + PHY: Heat stress treatment, fed basal diet + 1 kg/ton feed PHY.

ALT: Alanine aminotransferase ; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase

Data are means ± SEM ( standard error of the mean)

Number of sampled birds (n) = 3 birds/replicate (12 birds/ treatment)