Influence of turmeric (<i>curcuma longa</i>) as feed additive on the performance, serum enzymes and lipid profile of broiler chickens

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with turmeric powder as a natural growth promoter on performance, and serum biochemical profile in broiler chickens. A total of 200 day old broiler chicks (Ross) were allocated to five dietary treatments, with four replicates, having 10 birds per replicate. The dietary treatments consisted of the control diet (T₁) with 0% turmeric powder, and then 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%and 1.0%??/100kg of feed with turmeric powder added to T₂, T₃, T₄, and T₅ respectively. Results showed that feed intake was not significantly influenced across the treatments (P>0.05). The average weekly weight gain and final weight of the broilers differed significantly (P<0.05) amongst the treatment groups. Turmeric supplementation showed a significant decrease in FCR and in turn improved feed efficiency. The effects of turmeric on Aspartate amino-transferase (AST), Alanine transaminase (ALT), and total cholesterol (TC) increased significantly in the group that received the highest concentration of turmeric. However, this increase is minimal to cause any observable adverse effect. Meanwhile, there was significant increase in low density lipoprotein (LDL) among the group that received 1% (100g) Turmeric/100kg feed. There were no significant increase in serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride. The result of this study therefore, demonstrates that dietary supplementation of turmeric powder should not exceed 1000g/kg feed in broiler production. It was also shown that turmeric addition had a positive influence on feed conversion ratio thereby improving the weight gain in broiler birds.

Keywords: Turmeric; Performance; Serum Enzymes; Lipid Profile