PHYTOGENIC EFFECTS OF NEEM LEAF ON BRAIN HEALTH: A STUDY ON PURKINJE CELLS IN BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

Neem leaf (Azadirachta indica) was used as a phytogenic feed additive in a study to examine the effects on Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of broiler chickens. A total of 100 one-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were assigned randomly to five treatments, T1 (0%), T2 (0.3%), T3 (0.4%), T4 (0.5%), and T5 (0.6%) inclusion of neem leaf respectively. Photomicrographs were taken using an Olympus Microscope at x400 magnification, examined for morphometrics using ImageJ software, and analyzed using Graph-Pad Prism 8.0.2. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was the experimental design used in the study. GraphPad Prism version 8.0.2(263) was used to do a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on data in order to ascertain the treatment effect. The same statistical package's Tukey test was used to analyze mean differences. The experimental design was completely randomized design (CRD), and differences in means were analyzed using Tukey test. Results showed there were significant difference (P<0.05) in Purkinje cells of chickens fed T2 and T5. Histological study revealed that chickens fed a control diet displayed a higher linear density of Purkinje cells compared to those fed Neem leaf supplementation. Notably, the highest inclusion levels T5 (0.6%) resulted in shrunken and irregularly shaped Purkinje cells, indicating possible neuro-degeneration. Behavioral observations in chickens fed T5 showed symptoms of lack of coordination and tremors, suggesting a connection between Neem supplementation and motor function impairment. Although brain weights of Neem-fed chickens were marginally greater than those in the control group, the density and shape of Purkinje cells prompted concerns about the potential detrimental consequences of excessive Neem leaf ingestion. These findings reinforce the need for careful assessment of Neem leaf supplementation in poultry diets, following the quest of sourcing alternatives to replace the use of synthetic substances in optimizing, growth, performance, and health.