The Effect of Jatropha Curcas Seed Meal on Growth Performance and Internal Organs Development and Lesions in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

KeywordsBroiler, Jatropha curcas, phorbol ester, toxicity.Submitted: September/2014 Approved: November/2015 ABSTRACTThe meal of Jatropha curcas (JCM) seed is a by-product of the biofuel industry and may potentially to be used as animal feed. However, its toxicity has prevented its utilization in animal nutrition mainly due to its high concentration of phorbol esters. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the dietary inclusion of JCM on the growth performance, feed digestibility and internal organs development of broilers. Thirty two 48-d-old Ross 308 broiler chickens housed in 16 pens (2 birds/pen) were used in this study. Birds were randomly allocated to dietary treatments comprising four JCM levels (negative control, 25, 50, or 100 g JCM/kg of diet) for four weeks. Results showed that increasing levels of JCM had a negative impact on broiler performance, reducing live weight, weight gain, and feed intake. Treatments led to a decrease of the relative weight of testis and spleen, and to an increase in heart relative weight. In broilers fed diets containing JCM, the testis were atrophic, presenting reduced size of the seminiferous tubule, which were small and lined within active sertoli cells and rare spermatogonia. This study illustrates the negative impact of diets containing JCM on broiler performance and JCM pathological effects on several organs.

Cardoon Meal (Cynara cardunculus var. altilis) as Alternative Protein Source during Finishing Period in Poultry Feeding

“…Raw jatropha meal causes detrimental effects on the reproductive performance of birds and decreases weight gain as a consequence of its low digestibility. These effects are due to the high content of lignin derived from shells that are not completely removed during the oil extraction [24][25][26]. Cottonseed and canola meal are also used in poultry feeding but, respectively, gossypol and glucosinolates exert toxic effects on birds.…”

Detoxification Methods of Jatropha curcas Seed Cake and Its Potential Utilization as Animal Feed

“…These negative effects have been observed using different plant materials and animal models indicating that phorbol esters may have a wide range of toxicological effects at different levels of intake, the administration method, and that animal species may also respond differently [16,41,51]. These parameters must be considered in order to implement effective risk management strategies, so that we can safeguard animal health and mitigate the adverse effects of exposure to toxic phorbol esters.…”