Effects of sesame meal bioactive peptides, individually or in combination with a mixture of essential oils, on growth performance, carcass, jejunal morphology, and microbial composition of broiler chickens

The objective of the current study was to investigate the influence of sesame meal bioactive peptides (SMBP) individually or in combination with a mixture of savory ( Satureja khuzestanica ) and thyme ( Thymus daenensis ) essential oils (STEO) on growth performance, carcass, jejunal morphology, and cecal microbial composition of broiler chickens. A total number of 250-day-old male Ross broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 5 dietary treatments with 5 replicates per each. Dietary treatments were a corn–soybean meal diet as control; control diet supplemented with 0.5 g/kg of Bacitracin as antibiotic (A); 3 g/kg of SMBP; 0.5 g/kg of STEO; and a combination of 3 g/kg of SMBP and 0.5 g/kg of STEO. Results indicated that inclusion of SMBP + STEO in diet improved body weight gain and feed conversion ratio during 11 to 24 days ( P