Medicinal plants have adequate potential to act as complete antioxidant agents. Antioxidants of these natural sources have no adverse carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic effects of synthetic antioxidants and are readily available at low cost [4]. In recent years, there has been a great expansion in the application of these natural products as an antioxidants in the broiler industry [5]. Cichorium intybus L. (C. intybus), also recognized as chicory, has been employed in Iranian A N existing survey was performed to assess the hepatoprotective effects of C. intybus root extract on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in broiler chickens. A total of 240 one-day-old broiler chickens were divided into diverse groups of control, carbon tetrachloride (1 mL/kg body weight IM injection), C. intybus root extract (500 mg/kg body weight/daily orally) and finally both C. intybus root extract and carbon tetrachloride. Liver samples were dissected and examined histopathologically at the day 31 of maintenance. Numerical grading of histopathological findings was performed according to the types of lesions at different criteria. Liver samples of carbon tetrachloride-treated group harbored moderate fatty degeneration and necrosis. Those treated with C. intybus extract showed normal cellular and tissue structure. Chicks faced with carbon tetrachloride and treated with C. intybus extract exhibited mild fatty degeneration and normal tissue structure. Chicks treated with C. intybus extract displayed the lowermost scores of necrosis (1.08±0.28), degeneration (1.33±0.49), inflammation (1.16±0.38) and total pathologic indexes (3.58±0.79). Broilers faced with carbon tetrachloride displayed the uppermost scores of necrosis (2.83±0.57), degeneration (3.66±0.49), inflammation (2.16±0.38) and total pathologic indexes (8.66±0.98). C. intybus extract application to broilers faced with carbon tetrachloride caused statistically significant decrease in the scores give to necrosis, degeneration, inflammation and total pathologic indexes (P <0.05). Findings suggested that 10 days administration of C. intybus extract caused significant decrease in the formation of centrilobular hepatic necrosis, fatty changes, inflammation and degeneration of the hepatic cells of broilers faced with CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity.

T HIS work was aimed to study effect of C. intybus root extract on blood parameters of chicks under CCl4-induced toxicity. Totally, 240 one-day-old broiler chicks were divided into diverse groups of control, CCl4 (1 mL/kg body weight IM injection), C. intybus root extract (500 mg/kg body weight/daily orally from days 20 to 29) and finally both C. intybus and CCl4. Blood samples are collected daily from age of 20 to 31 days. Levels of alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransaminase and alanine aminotransferase and glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were assessed by commercial kits. Decrease in the levels of AST and ALT and increase in the levels of SOD and GPx were observed. The lowest levels of AST, ALP and ALT in day 31 of blood sampling were achieved in chicks treated with C. intybus (500 mg/ kg BW/daily from days 20 to 29) (130.91±31.18 U/L), CCl4 (1 mL/kg BW IM on days 24 and 25) (346.59±83.75 U/L) and C. intybus (from days 20 up to 29) (4.51±2.03 U/L) groups. The highest amounts of SOD and GPx in the stage 2 of blood sampling were achieved in chicks treated with C. intybus (500 from days 20 up to 29) and CCl4 (1 mL/kg BW on days 24 and 25) (590.33±73.22 U/L) and those treated with C. intybus (from days 20 up to 23) and CCl4 (on days 24 and 25) (261.91±32.18 U/L) groups, respectively. Oral prescription of chicory extract for 10 days can be used as a hepatoprotective agent on poultry.