Influence of natural vitamin E, vitamin C, choline and herbal liver supplements on carcass traits of commercial broiler chickens

Introduction

With the restriction on certain antibiotics, concerns about their adverse effects, and their rising cost, herbal feed additives are gaining increasing significance in poultry production. Herbs and their active constituents have been widely investigated over the past two decades as alternatives for enhancing growth performance, as they can beneficially influence metabolism by stimulating digestion, boosting immune function, lowering inflammation, and offering antimicrobial and antioxidant actions. Aromatic plant extracts contain key bioactive compounds such as phenolics, polyketides, terpenes, and steroids. Among these, phenolic compounds are considered particularly beneficial secondary metabolites. Several studies have reported that the inclusion of different herbal extracts in poultry diets leads to improved weight gain, better carcass characteristics, and reduced mortality (Giannenas et al., 2018) [4] . Gaikawad et al. supplemented Amla powder (Emblica officinalis) as natural vitamin C in broiler chickens and observed that no significant effect on carcass characteristics as compared to control birds but numerical increase in dressing per centage was seen in group supplemented with amla powder at 1% in basal diet. Dhumal et al. (2018) [2] found non-significant differences among the treatment groups and concluded that edible carcass yield, breast yield, heart, liver and gizzard weight produced by birds fed 0.05% herbal liver supplemented diet are similar to that of control group (no herbal liver supplement) without affecting the carcass yield. Somavanshi et al. (2020) observed higher dressing per centage in broiler chickens treated with herbal liver stimulant than control group. Highest dressing per centage was observed in group G4 (12 ml/25 birds/day) followed by G3 (9 ml) and G2 (6 ml) the difference between three treatment groups found statistically significant.

Materials and Methods

A total of one-hundred-and-fifty-day-old commercial broiler (Cobb) chicks were procured from the Venkateshwara hatcheries Pvt. Ltd. All the chicks were weighed and wing banded individually. The chicks were allocated to five experimental groups each consisting of three replicates with ten chicks each. The chicks were reared in deep litter system and maintained under standard managemental practices till 42 days of age. Birds were vaccinated against Newcastle disease and Infectious bursal disease as per the schedule. Feed and water were provided ad libitum throughout the experimental period. The basal diet (control-T 1 ) was formulated in accordance with the BIS (2007) standards of nutrient requirements. Natural vitamin E, vitamin C, choline and herbal liver supplement were added to the treatment groups T 2 , T 3 , T 4 and T 5 respectively each at 0.1% to the basal diet. Chicks were vaccinated against ND with B1 strain on seventh day and booster dose with LaSota strain on twenty first day through intra ocular route and IBD with intermediate strain on fourteenth day and on twenty eighth day through intra ocular route. Description of experimental groups is given in Table 1.0.

At the end of the experiment, two birds from each replicate from all treatment groups were slaughtered to study the carcass characteristics like dressing per centage, drumstick yield, thigh yield, breast yield, abdominal fat and visceral organ (heart, liver, gizzard and proventriculus) weights were recorded and expressed in terms of gram per cent (g/100 g). Before being slaughtered, the birds underwent a 12-hour fast and were only given access to ad-libitum drinking water. Birds were slaughtered humanely by severing the jugular vein and carotid artery on one side of the neck, allowed to bleed for 1-2 minutes, and scalding them for two minutes at 54°C in a dunking scalder, defeathered mechanically for 30-60 seconds in a rotary drum picker. The birds were dressed by cutting the head at Atlanta-occipital joint, legs at hock joint and the carcass was eviscerated by making a slit opening at the abdominal area to remove gastrointestinal tract, separable fat, edible and non-edible organs from the carcass. The carcass traits were calculated as follows

Main herbal ingredients of test materials (natural products)

Vitamin E: Berberis vulgaris, Withania somnifera and Rheum palmatum.

Results and Discussion

Carcass traits

The results of the effect of natural vitamin E, vitamin C, choline and herbal liver supplement on different carcass traits on 42 nd day in broilers were presented in Table 2.0. and visceral organs weights in Table 3 However, no significant (P > 0.05) difference was observed in the thigh yield in the groups T 1 , T 2 , T 3 and T 5 and also between T 4 and T 5 groups.

The yield of drumstick yield (%) in groups T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 and T 5 at 42 nd day were 17.64, 17.44, 17.55, 17.00 and 15.52, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed significant (P ≤ 0.05) difference in yield of drumstick between the treatments. The group T 5 shows statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) compared to T 1 , T 2 and T 3 . However, no significant (P > 0.05) difference was observed in the drumstick yield among the groups T 1 , T 2 , T 3 and T 4 and also between T 4 and T 5 groups. The abdominal fat (%) in groups T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 and T 5 at 42 nd day were 1.27, 1.49, 1.26, 1.22 and 0.98, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed no significant (P > 0.05) difference in the abdominal fat per centage between the different treatments and control. No significant differences observed in visceral organ weights.

The results of the present study are in agreement with the findings of Shiva Kumar et al. (2005) [7] , Sharma et al.

(2008) [6] , and Amitav et al. (2015) [1] , who reported improved carcass traits in broiler chickens supplemented with herbal liver stimulants. The significant increase in carcass features in the group receiving the herbal liver supplement may be attributable to the constituent herbs, which enhance digestion and metabolism and, as a result, improve mucosal function, protein utilization, and lower the cost of metabolic deamination. www.extensionjournal.com

Conclusion

Natural vitamin E, vitamin C and choline supplementation have no significant effect on carcass characteristics and visceral organs weight. Broilers receiving the herbal liver supplement exhibited a significant increase in dressing percentage and drumstick yield, while birds supplemented with choline showed a significant enhancement in thigh yield. The remaining treatment groups did not produce any significant effect on carcass traits and visceral organ weights.

References

1. Amitav B, Adarsh C, Shivi M, Ravikanth K. Effect of supplementation of Superliv liquid on the performance of commercial broilers in Salimpur poultry farm of Mathura. International Journal of Advanced Research. 2015;3:539-543.
2. Dhumal MV, Nikam MG, Nandedkar PV, Majee SB, Kotagiri R. Efficacy of herbal liver tonic (Superliv) in improving growth performance, nutrient utilization, carcass traits and economics of broiler chicken. International Journal of Livestock Research. 2018;8(6):2277-1964.
3. Gaikwad DS, Nage SP, Chavan SD. Effect of supplementation of amla (Emblica officinalis) on growth performance of broilers. Journal of Agricultural Research and Technology. 2019;44(3):233-237.