In the last decade, poultry nutritionists were particularly interested in
inspecting relevant natural antibiotic alternatives to be used in poultry feeding to
reduce the competitive efficacy of bacterial resistance and its residuals in poultry
products. Using antibiotics and hormones in feed not only raises production costs but
they also get incorporated into the processing of meat and eggs and increase microbial
resistance. Several synthetic medicine and growth promoters are fortified into broilers
diets for fast growth. However, their use still shows some drawbacks, such as high
costs, adverse side effects on bird health, and extended residual properties. Thus, the
primary aim of poultry production is to obtain higher performance through increasing
the feed efficiency besides getting safety products for consumption. Due to their
nutritional and immunological effects, such as improved feed efficiency, regulation of
endogenous digestive enzymes, immune response stimulation, antiviral, antibacterial,
and antioxidant properties, medicinal plants seem to be of great importance. Turmeric
(Curcuma longa) is a useful medicinal herb belonging to the ginger family,
Zingiberaceae which is inherent to the Asian subcontinent. It has numerous medicinal properties, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory,
antimutagenic activities, and other beneficial health applications. Furthermore, turmeric
contains several biologically active compounds such as curcumin, bisdemethoxy
curcumin, demethoxy-curcumin, and tetrahydrocurcuminoids, which may be
responsible for these beneficial effects. Besides, turmeric is safe due to its low toxicity
index and could be effective against aflatoxin-induced mutagenicity and
hepatocarcinogenicity. In this chapter, we will discuss the valuable effects of turmeric
in terms of the production, carcass traits, and ameliorative role in bird .
Keywords: Growth promoter, Immunomodulation, Poultry, Turmeric.