Citation of this paper

Effect of the herb mixture as phytogenic feed additive on growth performance and carcass traits of Noi chickens

Nguyen Tuyet Giang^1,2, Le Thi Thuy Hang^1,2, Do Vo Anh Khoa³, Mai Hai Chau³, Phan Phuong Loan^1,2, Le Thi Thuy Loan^1,2, Vo Thi Kim Hoang^1,2 and Bui Thi Dieu Mai³

¹ An Giang University, An Giang, Vietnam
ntgiang@agu.edu.vn
² Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
³ Vietnam National University of Forestry, Vietnam

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the impacts of dietary supplementation of the herbal powder (a mixture of garlic, lemongrass, and turmeric) on growth performance and carcass traits of Noi chickens. A total of 240 Noi chickens at 28 days old were randomly allocated into five dietary treatments: HM0, HM25, HM50, PM75 and HM100, corresponding to five levels of herb supplementation: 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1.0% to the basal diet. Each treatment was replicated three times with 16 birds (8 males and 8 females) per each. The results showed that significant improvement in feed conversion ratio and mortality were achieved when Noi chickens were fed with the herb mixture. In addition, the application of the herb mixture increased the weights of the spleen and the bursa of Fabricius but reduced the percentages of the gizzard (p<0.05) at 98 days old. It is concluded that the herb mixture added up to 1.0% in the diet had a beneficial effect on growth performance and carcass traits of Noi chickens.

Key word: carcass trait, growth performance, Noi chicken, herb mixture

Introduction

Chicken production has increased substantially over the recent decades, making them the most commonly farmed species, with over 90 billion tons of chicken meat produced annually (FAO 2021). Rising demand for chicken meat has put the producers under pressure to produce the poultry in the shortest time with maximum output. A large diversity of antibiotics, therefore, was used successfully at subtherapeutic doses in broiler production to prevent the diseases and to achieve desired growth rate (Muaz et al 2018). However, the persistence of antibiotic resistance observed worldwide has created urgent concern for livestock production and the need of other effective therapies against bacterial pathogens (Agyare et al 2018; Mehdi et al 2018). Therefore, some alternative approaches including probiotics, prebiotics, acidifiers, phytochemicals, enzymes, antimicrobial peptides, and bacteriophages have been studied and developed in livestock farming to replace antibiotics as growth promoters (Cheng et al 2014; Mund et al 2017; Sapsuha et al 2021; Rahman et al 2022).

The search for antibiotic alternatives has increased the awareness and concern of the consumers, further encouraging scientific research on the use of herbs or phytogenics in animal nutrition (Frankič et al 2009; Odoemelam et al 2013). Phytogenic feed additives which are medicinal and aromatic plants containing varied biologically active compounds have attracted increased interest as feed additives, due to the ability to enhance enzyme secretion and nutrient absorption, to stimulate immune response and to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microbes in the gut (Omolere and Alagbe 2020; Abdelli et al 2021; Krauze 2021). Garlic, lemongrass, turmeric, and their extracts have been reported to possess anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and immunostimulant properties (Gouda and Bhandary 2018; Oladeji et al 2019; Ansary et al 2020). However, there is a dearth of information on the effects of an herbal mixture containing these three ingredients on chicken performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide novel insights into the synergy effect of a combined phytogenic feed additive containing garlic, lemongrass and turmeric powders on the growth and carcass performance of Noi chickens.

Materials and methods

Experimental design and diets

The experiment was conducted from February to April 2022, on an experimental farm in Long Xuyen city, An Giang province. A total of 240 Noi chickens at 28 days old with similar initial body weights were randomly divided into five treatments with three replicates of 16 chicks each (8 male and 8 female birds). Chickens received basal diets without (T0, Control) or with the addition of 0.25% (PM25), 0.5% (PM50), 0.75% (PM75) and 1.0% (PM100) of mixed herb in the ration throughout the experimental period (from 28 to 98 days old of the birds).

Fresh garlic, lemongrass, and turmeric were purchased one time from the local market. The ingredients were then washed, peeled, and cut into slices of 1 mm thickness (Photos 1-3) before being dried in a conventional oven dryer at 65 ºC until their moisture was around 13%. After that, they were milled into powder and stored in the refrigerator before being used. The herb powder was formed by mixing the garlic, lemongrass, and turmeric powders with an equivalent ratio of 1:1:1 by weight (Photo 4), before adding into the basal diets which were formulated to meet the nutritional requirements for broiler chicken as indicated by NRC (1994). The ingredient composition and the proximate analysis of the basal diets are presented in Table 1. Water and mash feed were offered ad libitum according to the chickens’ need. Scheduled vaccinations against contagious diseases (Newcastle disease, Gumboro, fowl pox and avian influenza) were administered according to the instruction of the Veterinary Medicine Department of An Giang province.

Table 1. Ingredients and chemical composition of the basal diet
Ingredients (%)	28-56 days old	≥ 56 days old

Broken rice	23.0	23.0
Rice bran	39.0	40.0
Maize	17.0	19.0
Fish meal	10.0	8.0
Soybean meal	10.0	9.0
Mineral-vitamin premix^*	0.5	0.5
Dicalcium phosphate	0.5	0.5
Total	100.0	100.0
Metabolizable energy and chemical composition ^**
ME (MJ/kg)	13.3	13.4
Ash (%)	6.61	6.18
DM (%)	89.5	89.8
CP (%)	18.4	17.1
^* 1 kg premix contains 2,500,000 IU vitamin A; 350,000 IU vitamin D₃; 1,000 mg vitamin E; 1,500,000 mg B₁; 2,500,000 mg vitamin B₂; 8,000 mg vitamin B ₅; 650 mg vitamin B₆; 9,000 mg vitamin PP; 127-130 mg Fe; 380 mg Zn; 127-130 mg Mn; 40 mg Co; 35,000-42,500 NaCl; 3,365-4,115 mg KCl; 17,000 mg D, L-methionine. ^** ME was estimated according to the database of McDonald et al (2011). The chemical composition was analysed following standard methods of AOAC (2005)

Measurement for growth performance and carcass traits

The initial body weight (BW) of the birds at 28 days old as well as the ending body weight at 98 days old was recorded to calculate average daily gain (ADG). The average daily feed intake (ADFI) was determined on a fresh basis as the difference between the quantity of feed offered and the leftovers. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated as the ratio of the ADFI to the ADG. Birds in all cages were checked for viability thoroughly.

At the end of the trial, the feeding was left 12h. Twelve average-weighted birds in each treatment were slaughtered by severing the jugular vein. After being defeathered, the head, shank and legs of the birds were removed before the evisceration to determine the weights of the carcass, breast, thigh, wings, heart, liver, gizzard, abdominal fat, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius. The relative weight of the carcass and these cut-up parts were assessed. The lengths of the small, caecum and large intestine were also measured.

Statistical analysis

All the data were analyzed using a one-way GLM procedure of MINITAB version 16.0 based on the completely randomized design, followed by comparison among the means using the Tukey test. Statistical significance was considered at the 5% level of probability.

Results and discussion

Growth performance

The results on Table 2 revealed the effect of the mixed herb powder on the growth performance of Noi chickens. Overall, the herb supplementation did not affect the ADG and ADFI of the birds (p>0.05), although the ADG of the birds treated with mixed herb were quantitatively higher than that of the birds consumed basal diet only (Figure 1). Instead, the dietary umentation of mixed herb had a significant effect on the FCR (p<0.05) which implied that the amount of feed consumed to gain 1 kg of body weight in was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the birds fed control diet than in the birds fed diets containing phytogenic growth promoters (Figure 2). In this content, the T100 displayed the lowest FCR value (3.18) than other treatments. It is also worthy to note that no mortality was recorded throughout the whole experiment in T100.

Table 2. Growth performance of Noi chickens as affected by graded levels of dietary herbal mixture suplementation
Parameter	HM0	HM25	HM50	HM75	HM100	SEM	p

Initial body weight (g)	249	254	252	255	252	7.53	0.981
Final body weight (g)	1574	1570	1629	1666	1711	54.0	0.317
ADG (g/bird/day)	18.9	18.8	19.7	20.1	20.8	0.73	0.276
ADFI (g/bird/day)	67.0	67.4	67.1	68.2	66.1	2.20	0.978
FCR (kg feed/kg gain)	3.55^ab	3.59^a	3.42^ab	3.39^ab	3.18^b	0.09	0.032
Mortality (%)	4.2	2.1	2.1	2.1	0.0	-	-
ADG: Average daily gain; ADFI: Average daily feed intake)

The noticeable improvement in FCR could be attributed to allicin, aromatic essential oil, and curcumin, the main active metabolites in garlic, lemongrass, and turmeric, respectively. Allicin in garlic has been shown to reduce levels of triglyceride and cholesterol in blood serum, inhibit bacterial wall synthesis and reduce oxidative stress, which in turn improves broiler growth and feed efficiency (Puvača et al 2016). Essential oils such as α-citral, β-citral, and myrcene in lemongrass have been reported to have significant resistance to pathogenic positive and negative bacteria (Manvitha and Bidya 2014; Oladeji et al 2019). Curcumin increases the production of intestinal enzymes which consequently improves nutrient digestion and absorption (Sharifi-Rad et al 2020).


Figure 1. Effect of herb mixture on the average daily gain	Figure 2. Effect of herb mixture on the feed conversion ratio

It was hypothesized that combined herb in chicken diets may increase the influence of herb to the digestive system of Noi chickens leading to improvement of productivity and reduction of mortality. Madavi et al (2019) claimed that the dietary inclusion of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) not only improved the feed intake and FCR of broiler chickens but also showed significant superiority over the control treatment in terms of the economical and profitable for broiler production. Ashour et al (2020) cleared that the growth rate of Hubbard broilers was not adversely influenced by adding herbal mixture of Capsicum annuum, Thymus vulgaris, Salvia rosmarinus, Pimpinella anisum, Mentha spicata, Nigella sativa and Allium sativum in the diet. In agreement, Sadeghi et al (2012) claimed that feed intake of Ross 308 broiler chickens was not affected by the adding 5 grams per liter of cinnamon, thyme and turmeric in equal ratio in replacement of drinking water. Similar observations have been made by other scholars who have done studies with herbs and other biological feed additives (Alagbe et al 2019; Alizada et al 2020; Daramola 2020).

Carcass traits

The carcass characteristics, as affected by the addition of herbal mixture powder, are shown in Table 3. Live weight and carcass weight in chickens receiving herb mixture were non-significantly higher than that of the control chickens (p>0.05). There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in the weight of breast meat, leg meat, wings, heart, liver, gizzard, and abdominal fat, as well as intestine lengths. However, giving the herb mixture significantly increased (p<0.05) the weights of the spleen and bursa of Fabricius compared to the control group (Figures 3 and 4). The weight and proportions of abdominal fat were decreased when giving chickens the herb mixture, but the differences were non-significant (p>0.05). The relative weights of the carcass, breast meat, thigh meat, wings, heart, liver, abdominal fat, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius were not affected (p>0.05) by dietary treatments with herb mixture, as presented in Table 4. It also showed that Noi chickens of T75 and T100 had significantly lower gizzard percentages (p<0.05).

Table 3. Carcass traits of Noi chickens as affected by graded levels of dietary herbal mixture suplementation
Parameter	HM0	HM25	HM50	HM75	HM100	SEM	p

Weight (g)
Live weight	1413	1625	1700	1900	1868	135	0.124
Carcass	961	1111	1192	1307	1304	94.3	0.099
Breast meat	187	220	236	234	252	19.9	0.243
Thigh meat	196	217	263	281	279	27.1	0.144
Wings	126	150	156	164	169	13.1	0.230
Heart	9.00	7.50	8.75	9.50	9.25	1.05	0.698
Liver	37.0	36.0	34.3	37.3	36.5	3.89	0.983
Gizzard	19.2	20.5	20.3	21.3	21.0	1.12	0.741
Abdominal fat	22.9	18.8	19.3	17.8	18.5	3.17	0.806
Spleen	3.50^b	3.62^b	4.38^ab	5.25^ab	6.50^a	0.65	0.027
Bursa of Fabricius	2.50^c	4.00^b	4.25^b	5.50^ab	5.00^a	0.28	0.000
Intestine length (cm)
Small intestine	149	155	162	171	158	10.9	0.694
Caecum	15.0	14.5	17.3	17.9	15.0	1.49	0.415
Large intestine	10.5	12.5	12.5	12.1	12.1	0.93	0.544
HM: diet supplemented with 0% herb; HM25: diet supplemented with 0.25% herb; HM50: diet supplemented with 0.50% herb; HM75: diet supplemented with 0.75% herb; HM100: diet supplemented with 1.0% herb. Means in the same row with different superscripts are significantly different (P<0.05)


Figure 3. Effect of herb mixture on the spleen weight	Figure 4. Effect of herb mixture on the weight of the bursa of Fabricius

Our findings are consistent with Abd El-Hady et al (2020) who observed that there were no differences in the percentages of carcass, liver, gizzard, heart, and intestinal lengths of broiler chickens fed on a diet including natural phytogenic extract herbs. Also, Puvača et al (2015) pointed out that the dietary mixture of garlic powder, black pepper powder and hot red pepper (1:1:1 in total amount of 0.5g/100g) in broiler diet had no effect on the weights before and after slaughter as well as the dressing percentage and other proportions of primal cuts in ready-to-grill carcass.

Table 4. Yield of carcass and cut-off proportions of Noi chickens as affected by graded levels of dietary herbal mixture suplementation
Parameter	HM0	HM25	HM50	HM75	HM100	SEM	p

Relative to live weight, %
Carcass	68.0	68.4	70.2	68.7	69.7	0.68	0.174
Breast meat	13.2	13.5	13.9	12.5	13.4	0.53	0.454
Thigh meat	13.9	13.4	15.4	14.6	14.8	0.66	0.258
Wings	8.95	9.19	9.19	8.61	8.98	0.21	0.327
Heart	0.64	0.46	0.51	0.50	0.49	0.04	0.088
Liver	2.61	2.21	2.03	1.99	1.98	0.24	0.328
Gizzard	1.36^a	1.26^ab	1.20^ab	1.13^b	1.13^b	0.05	0.030
Abdominal fat	1.64	1.21	1.21	0.99	1.05	0.27	0.481
Spleen	0.25	0.22	0.27	0.28	0.35	0.03	0.080
Bursa of Fabricius	0.18	0.25	0.26	0.30	0.27	0.03	0.069
Relative to carcass weight, %
Breast meat	19.4	19.8	19.8	18.1	19.2	0.79	0.588
Thigh meat	20.4	19.5	22.0	21.3	21.2	0.95	0.461
Wings	13.2	13.4	13.1	12.5	12.9	0.33	0.398
Heart	0.64	0.46	0.51	0.50	0.49	0.04	0.088
Liver	3.84	3.24	2.89	2.89	2.85	0.36	0.290
Gizzard	2.00^a	1.84^ab	1.71^b	1.65^b	1.63^b	0.08	0.023
Abdominal fat	2.41	1.76	1.72	1.43	1.51	0.38	0.439
Spleen	0.36	0.33	0.38	0.40	0.50	0.04	0.099
Bursa of Fabricius	0.26	0.36	0.36	0.43	0.39	0.04	0.075
HM0: diet supplemented with 0% herb; HM25: diet supplemented with 0.25% herb; HM50: diet supplemented with 0.50% herb; HM75: diet supplemented with 0.75% herb; HM100: diet supplemented with 1.0% herb. Means in the same row with different superscripts are significantly different (P<0.05)

As in this study, the result of Khaligh et al (2011) showed positive effects of phytogenic feed additives on the weights of spleen and bursa of Fabricius. Beneficial effects of blend anise and blend licorice root on immune responses also were concurrent with higher relative weights of spleen and bursa of Fabricius, respectively, as compared to control chickens. In accordance, Mudalal et al (2020) observed that the herb extract (a mixture of pure honey with an extract of Tigonella foenum graecum, Anthemis ecutita, Urtica dioica, Thymus vulgaris, Menthola, and Nigella sativa) could be attributed to the enhanced immune-stimulating properties which consequently promoted the percentages of the lymphoid organs of Ross 500 chickens. The low mortality and the better growth performance of Noi chickens in this study can be explained by the improvement of the immune system as indicated by higher weights of both spleen and bursa of Fabricius. Mudalal et al (2020) also reported the inclusion of herb extract reduced the gizzard percentage compared to that in control birds.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the data from this present study clearly indicate that:

Significant improvement in FCR and mortality were achieved when Noi chickens were fed with herb mixture.
Application of herb mixture increased the weights of the spleen and bursa of Fabricius but reduced the percentages of the gizzard.

These findings suggest that the herb mixture of garlic, lemongrass and turmeric can be added up to 1.0% in the diet to improve the growth performance and carcass traits of Noi chickens.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Department of Science and Technology of An Giang province and An Giang University (project no. 21.02.CS). We also thank Mr. Thao, Ms. Hanh, and Mr. Duc for their technical assistance.

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