en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene پژوهشي Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:1;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b><span style="background:white"><span style="color:black">Background:</span></span></b> This study investigated the effects of amaranth feeding on performance, carcass characteristics, biochemical parameters, blood antioxidant status, immunity, fatty acid profile, and sensory traits of broiler meat. <span lang="FA" dir="RTL" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span><br> <b><span style="background:white"><span style="color:black">Methods:</span></span></b> After analyzing the nutrient composition of amaranth, experiments were conducted using 150 Ross 308 broilers in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments (0, 1, and 2% raw amaranth) and five replications of 10 birds each.<br> <b><span style="background:white"><span style="color:black">Results:</span></span></b><b> </b>Results showed that broilers fed 1% or 2% amaranth exhibited an improved feed conversion ratio and increased body weight (<i>p </i>< 0.05). Amaranth feeding also decreased (<i>p </i>< 0.01) blood glucose, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, atherogenic index, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and malondialdehyde. However, it significantly increased high-density lipoprotein, uric acid, albumin, total protein, phosphorus, iron, calcium, and total antioxidant capacity (<i>p</i> < 0.01).<br> <b><span style="background:white"><span style="color:black">Conclusion:</span></span></b> Supplementation with low levels of amaranth can be used as a dietary enrichment for broiler chickens without negative effects on overall production performance or carcass traits. Improvements were observed in health-related indicators, including blood lipid and antioxidant profiles, as well as the sensory quality of broiler meat. Since broiler meat is widely consumed, this research suggests a potential benefit for human health.</span></span></span></div> Amaranth, Atherogenic index, Broiler chickens, Enrichment, Feed conversion ratio, Total antioxidant capacity, 225 237 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-306-4&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mahmoud Saei mahmood.saei1341@gmail.com 100319475328460016013 0009-0009-3372-2046 No Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ra.C., Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran. Alireza Seidavi alirezaseidavi@iaurasht.ac.ir 100319475328460016014 100319475328460016014 Yes Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ra.C., Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran. Mehrdad Bouyeh mbouyeh@gmail.com 100319475328460016015 100319475328460016015 No Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ra.C., Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.