Coconut meal as a feed ingredient and source of prebiotic for poultry

Abstract

The low quality protein of coconut meal, coupled with high fibre content, leads to limited use of this agricultural by-product in the poultry diet. Attempts to maximize the amount of coconut meal included in the broiler feed have been made through amino acids supplementation, enzyme addition and pelleting coconut meal. Among these feed technologies and manipulation, pelleting coconut meal appears to be more powerful in promoting the growth of broiler chickens. The reasons for the improvement of broiler growth due to pelleting coconut meal have not been established yet. The mechanisms of improved growth of birds might be through increased feed intake, less energy spent and increased bulk density. Coconut meal contains a high concentration of mannose – based polysaccharides or mannan. This substance has long been believed to have prebiotic properties due to its capability to bind certain species of pathogenic bacteria in the digestive tract of birds. Voluminous reports of the positive effects of mannose-based polysaccharides from yeast have been published. Mannose –based polysaccharides from legumes, on the other hand, have been reported to have anti-nutrient property. Surprisingly, mannose-based polysaccharides from coconut behave like yeast mannan. A number of current studies indicated that mannose based polysaccharides improved body weight gain and feed digestibility. The growth of birds was negatively impacted when the birds were challenged against pathogenic bacteria of E. coli. Wet droppings and diarrhea incidences were not found in E. coli-challenged birds when the diets were supplemented with coconut mannan. In conclusions, coconut meal can be used as a feed ingredient for poultry unless the coconut meal was pelleted or enzymatically treated. Mannose-based polysaccharide from coconut was effective to promote growth and acted as prebiotic.

Utilization of Agricultural Waste for the Cultivation of Pleurotus Mushrooms in Thailand

“…17 Coconut meal also contains various soluble sugars, such as glucose, mannose, galactose and arabinose, 18 dozens of amino acids, and an abundance of minerals and vitamins. 19 These nutrients are a good substrate for mushrooms because they can act as precursors for fungal metabolism. This suggested that coconut meal can be used as a supplementary material to sawdust; therefore, it can enhance the mycelial growth of oyster mushrooms.…”

Copra Meal: A Review of Its Production, Properties, and Prospects

“…For instance, there is an increasing trend in the use of oil cakes to produce substrates that will serve as carbon and nitrogen source in manufacturing biochemicals, including enzymes and antibiotics, through fermentation [ 71 ]. Aside from the extensive studies being conducted to optimize the use of copra meal as an alternative feed ingredient, various researchers are now seeking to explore the utilization of copra mannan for the production of prebiotic manno-oligosaccharides (MOS) for food and feed applications [ 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. Humans, similar to animals, cannot readily digest copra meal due to its high mannan content.…”

Coconut Palm: Food, Feed, and Nutraceutical Properties

“…Rolinec et al [ 83 ] claimed that coconut oil used as an additive in pig feed could encourage probiotic bacteria to grow, including Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus spp., demonstrating a positive effect for pig health management. Coconut meal or oil has been used recently as a feed additive in broiler chickens and pigs to improve their immunity and increase their productivity [ 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ]. Laloučková et al [ 87 ] also revealed a positive antibacterial effect of coconut oil against a pathogenic strain of bovine mastitis-causing bacteria, Streptococcus agalactiae .…”

“…Despite having adequate amount of protein and carbohydrate, the usage of coconut meal (CM) in poultry diet is still limited due several factors: insufficient lysine and methionine concentrations, highly indigestible non-starch polysaccharide (NSP), and low bulk density [ 86 ]. Earlier works by Eamilao [ 127 ] found that broiler chicks tolerated up to 5% CM inclusion in the diets while Mahadevan et al [ 128 ] showed that laying hens nourished with 20% CM were able to maintain their optimum egg production as compared to the corn-soy fed hens.…”