Effect of aqueous herbal extracts on growth, plasma metabolites and meat characteristics of broiler

Abstract

The experiment was carried out for 4 weeks to find out the efficacy of herbal extracts supplementation in drinking water on production performance, plasma metabolites, carcass characteristics, and fat deposition of commercial broilers. A total of 200 straight run day-old chicks (Cobb-500) were divided into five treatment groups; T0=Basal diet, T1= Basal diet+10 ppm neem leaves extract, T2= Basal diet+10 ppm garlic leaves extract, T3= Basal diet+10 ppm plantain leaves extract, T4= Basal diet+10 ppm antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) each with four replications having 10 birds per replicate. All the herbal extracts and AGP were supplemented in drinking water. Ration in the form of crumble was offered to the birds ad libitum having ME=3060 kcal/kg and CP=22.5%. Body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly to calculate body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). A total of 15 birds three from each treatment were sacrificed at the end of feeding trial and dressing parameters were evaluated. Sensory properties of broiler meat were assessed by a panel of experts. Feed intake, BWG and FCR varied (p<0.05) in all treated groups, and the higher BWG and improved FCR were found in AGP group. Triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein content were lower (p<0.05) in all herbal treated groups than the control and elevated at AGP group. However, increased (p<0.001) dressing percentage and abdominal fat deposition were found in AGP group compared to herbal treated groups and the least value was found in plantain group which also exhibited lower (p<0.001) meat ether extract. Flavor (p=0.001), juiciness (p=0.002), tenderness (p=0.005) and overall acceptability (p<0.001) of broiler meat were significantly higher in herbal group over control and AGP group. The aqueous herbal extract supplementation could be an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter to enhance growth performance, plasma lipid profiles as well as to reduce abdominal fat and meat of either extract.
 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2019. 48 (2): 108-115

Dose titration of plantain herb (Plantago lanceolata L.) supplementation on growth performance, serum antioxidants status, liver enzymatic activity and meat quality in broiler chickens

“…In this experiment, different levels of PL supplementation significantly reduced serum triglycerides in broiler but failed to reduce T-cholesterol content, which was consistent with the previous findings (Mazhari et al 2016;Camy et al 2020). However, some researchers reported that pomegranate pulp (Hosseini-Vashan and Raei-Moghadam 2019); garlic powder (Karim et al 2018); turmeric (Mondal et al 2015); thyme and curcumin (Fallah and Mirzaei 2016) supplementation in broiler diet reduced plasma T-cholesterol content.…”

“…On days 35, 18 birds from each group (three birds/replication) were slaughtered to collect blood and meat samples. Immediate after blood collection, it was centrifuged at 6000 Â g for 15 min for plasma separation and stored at 4 C (Camy et al 2020). Both breast and thigh meat samples were collected for meat colour analysis, but only breast meat was used for proximate and fatty acid profile analysis.…”

“…Previous research has demonstrated that supplementation of PL in fresh (Mazhari et al 2016), aqueous extract (Camy et al 2020), or dried powder (Saleheen 2020) could improve the growth performance of broiler. In this experiment, fresh PL supplementation improved LWG by 5-8% compared to the CON group, whereas both the PL80 and PL120 groups exhibited the highest response.…”

“…Despite these inconsistent and controversial findings, the improved growth in PL supplemented groups could be attributed to the existence of bioactive components (acteoside, aucubin, and catalpol) that enhanced the broiler's free radical scavenging activity and thus acted as a natural antioxidant (Chacrabati et al 2013;Boamah et al 2016;Mazhari et al 2016). In addition, flavonoid components in PL induce a lethal chemical interaction with parasite molecules, resulting in a lower parasitic count in the broiler and thus might improve nutrients turnover (Camy et al 2020). However, the dose-related response in growth performance was optimised at the PL80 group (Figure 1) and afterward did not carry any significant improvement.…”

“…The European Union has banned the use of synthetic antibiotic growth promoters in food animals, which provokes scientists to find out suitable alternatives (Selaledi et al 2020). Plantain (PL; Plantago lanceolata L.), a narrow leaf perennial herb belonging to the family Plantaginaceae has been widely used as a human tonic and forage herb for ruminants and poultry (Camy et al 2020;Redoy et al 2020). It contains a rich phytochemical profile, among them acteoside, aucubin and catalpol have a broad aspect of beneficial effects on animal health and productivity (Yap et al 2019).…”