Blood profile as health indicator and histological changes in the liver and kidney of broiler chickens administered crude extract of Lagenaria breviflora fruit

Lagenaria breviflora Roberty is a potent plant that is commonly used as an alternative antibiotic by poultry farmers in Nigeria.  There is information gap on the safe dose of its crude fruit extract in broiler chickens. Serum biochemical tests, liver and kidney histological studies were carried out to assess the health status of 120 broiler chickens administered crude extract of Lagenaria breviflora fruit (LBFE). The birds weighing 0.15 kg on the average were divided into 4 equal treatments (D₁– D₄) in 3 replicates of 10 birds each. D₁ (control) received 0.00 mL, D₂ received 2.50 mL, D₃ received 5.00 mL, while D₄  received 7.50 mL of LBFE/ 4litres of the drinking water respectively. The birds were offered broiler starter and finisher diets across the treatments. The experiment lasted for 42 d. The data collected were subjected to one - way ANOVA using SPSS. Total protein and albumin significantly increased with dose and were higher (4.55 g/dl) and (2.48 g/dl) in birds administered 7.50 mL of LBFE than the other treatments. Sodium and chloride ions were the only kidney function markers affected by the treatment. Sodium ion and chloride ion concentrations were significantly (p < 0.05) higher (130.60 mEq/L) and (82.03 mEq/L) in birds administered 7.50 mL of the LBFE respectively.  Cholesterol was significantly lower (94.93 mg/dl) in birds on 5.00 and 7.50 mL of LBFE. SOD was higher (41.77 u/l) in birds on 5.00 and 7.50 mL of LBFE. Liver and kidney histology showed normal histologic architecture in all the treated groups, indicating absence of hepatic and kidney toxicity. Based on our result it was concluded that up to 7.50 mL of LBFE did not cause derangement in the liver and kidney function markers, lipid profile and antioxidant markers measured as health indicators. Our study has shown that crude extraction of Lagenaria breviflora whole fruit is a vital agricultural biotechnology that will offer a cheap, sustainable, eco-friendly and natural alternative that contains potent phytochemicals that could improve biological functions in broiler chickens.