Present experiment was performed to study the effects of Echinacea purpurea (EP) and Nigella sativa (NS) on broiler performance, carcass and meat quality. Four treatment combinations were prepared: C - control group without any feed or water additive; E - drinking water intermittently supplemented with fermented juice of EP; N - feed supplemented with grounded seeds of NS, and EN - drinking water intermittently supplemented with EP and feed supplemented with NS. No significant treatment effect was observed on weight gain, average daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio and abdominal fat percentage. Carcass yield in C and N groups was significantly (P<0.05) higher than in E. Significantly (P<0.05) higher breast percentage in group N was observed. Crude protein contents were significantly (P<0.05) higher in meat samples of C and EN groups. Grill losses were significantly (P<0.05) lower in E and cooking losses were significantly (P<0.05) higher in N treated birds. No significant treatment effect was observed on meat colour, electrical conductivity and shear force value.
Nigella sativa is an annual flowering plant, native to Iran and other parts of southwest Asia, belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Its grain has several important health-related properties such as anti-parasitic, anti-virus, anti-bacterial, increased milk production, carminative, and anti-diabetic. To determine effects of fertilizer treatments on this plant, this experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design in three replications with seven treatments. Fertilizer treatments consisted of Bio phosphor (B 2 kg∙ha-1), Bio sulphur (S 5 kg∙ha-1), Biological fertilized phosphate BAVAR 2 (F 100 g∙ha-1), chemical fertilizer (M) according to soil analysis, and combined fertilizer (B+S), (S+F), and (C) treatment. The application of fertilizers showed a significant effect (p<0.01) on plant height, number of capsules per plant, seed weight, grain yield (g/m-2), number of flowers per plant, and biological yield (g/m-2). There were no observed significant differences (p<0.01) on the number of seeds per capsule, seed weight and yield between chemical fertilizer and biological BARVAR 2. Thus, it can be concluded that there is no preventative for biological fertilizer to produce a good yield of biological product for human health.