3. Results
3.1. Effects of dietary phytonutrients on body weights and gut lesion scores
Cobb, Hubbard, and Ross chickens co-infected with E.maxima and C. perfringens in an experimental disease model of avian NE had reduced body weights at day 20 post-hatch compared with uninfected
birds of the same breed (Fig. 2A). Infected chickens given a dietary supplementation with the Capsicum/Curcuma longa oleoresin mixture had increased body weights compared with infected birds fed the unsupplemented diet. Dietary supplementation with the oleoresin mixture also decreased intestinal lesion scores of the three infected chicken breeds compared with the unsupplemented and infected controls (Fig. 2B).