Efficacy of Feeding of Morinda citrifolia Fruit Juice and Lactobacillus acidophilus in Broiler

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the efficacy of feeding of Morinda citrifolia fruit juice (noni) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (LAB) and their combination in commercial broilers. Commercial broiler chicks were fed till 7 weeks of age as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). At day old age, chicks were randomly assigned to each of four water supplement treatments namely, T1 (5 mL noni juice / bird / day), T2 [5 mL (1×108 CFU mLG1) LAB / bird / day], T3 (2.5 mL noni + 2.5 mL LAB / bird / day) and T4 (control with basal diet only). The birds were maintained under deep litter system of rearing and provided with normal basal ration throughout the experiment period. Results revealed that broilers given with noni juice recorded significantly (p<0.05) higher mean body weight (451.9±17.1 and 1434.5±60.5 g) and weight gain (402.5±18.4 and 1391±60.3 g) at 21 and 49 days, respectively. Control group recorded significantly comparable body weight and weight gain. Feed efficiency was significantly (p<0.05) better (1.6 ±0.17) in noni group. Humoral immune response in noni + LAB group (0.73) was found to be significantly higher than control group (0.36) and other treatment groups (0.53) at one week post inoculation of Goat Red Blood Cells (GRBC). Noni and LAB groups showed significant (p<0.05) reduction in the coliform load. Treatment groups did not influence pH of intestine and carcass yield significantly. The feed consumption of the noni group was 10% lower than the other groups thus in turn it saved the feed cost of 5.39 per bird. Based on the present study, it is concluded that the feeding of Morinda citrifolia juice showed improved growth performance, high immune response, low gut microbial load and feed cost efficiency in commercial broilers and the combination of noni and LAB might be promising alternatives for antibiotic growth promoters to improve the production of safety poultry products.