Abstract
We have evaluated the effects of duckweed (Lemna minor) diets on production performance, carcass characteristics, biochemical parameters and blood antioxidant status, immune system, sensory and taste traits and breast fatty acid profile in broiler chickens during three periods (starter, grower, and finisher) and the entire rearing period, using 150 broiler chickens of the Ross 308 strain. This included 3 levels of chickweed at 0, 3, and 4% with 5 replications and 10 birds in each replication, in a completely randomized design. The results showed that the duckweed did not have any negative effect on production performance, and the weight of the broilers in the waterweed groups was similar to that of the control group (P > 0.05). The results of the immune system trait analysis showed that for all traits except Fabricius weight, there was no significant difference between the treatment groups. However, some significant differences were observed between the waterweed groups and control group: the smell of the meat was affected after duckweed feeding, increasing with increasing duckweed percentage (P < 0.05). Overall, we have demonstrated that duckweed can help improve blood and antioxidant parameters while maintaining performance, although it affected the smell of the meat. However, we conclude that it has the potential to be used in functional diets for broiler chickens.
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Acknowledgements
This research is part of a doctoral thesis, and the author would like to thank the Darvash Giah Khazar Medicinal Herbs Complex, managed by MSc. GH. Hosseintabar, for their technical, financial, and scientific support. In parallel, he would like to express his gratitude to Viromed Laboratories, Tekno Azma, and the Research and Development Unit of Sepid Makian Company.
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This manuscript is prepared based on the Ph.D. thesis of the first author at Ra.C., Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran. Financial support by Ra.C., Islamic Azad University, grant number 6298.1 is gratefully acknowledged.
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SS, AS, and MN participated in preparing the manuscript equally, and all authors approved of the manuscript.
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Saei, S., Seidavi, A. & Nosrati, M. Dietary effects of duckweed on performance, carcass characteristics, hematology, immunity, sensory traits, and fatty acid profile of meat in broilers. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-41286-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-41286-9
