fermented onion ( ) juice supplementation to broilers · prebiotic is the non-digestible...

Southern Leyte State University Volume 1 (2013)

FERMENTED ONION (Allium cepa) JUICE SUPPLEMENTATION TO BROILERS

Abstract

The study was about the effects of fermented onion juice (FOJ) to the growth performance of broilers. Straight run Cobb broiler chickens were grouped into three. Group one was given the traditional vitamin and antibiotic supplementation while the other group was supplemented with fermented onion juice and the third group, plain water. The feeds conversion ratio; average live weight and broiler efficiency score were compared using ANOVA. It was found out that birds supplemented with FOJ had better performance to broilers not receiving the supplements. This performance was comparable to the birds that were given antibiotic and vitamin preparations.

Keywords: fermented onion juice, vitamin and antibiotic supplementation

1.0 Introduction

Fermented onion juice is an organic based supplement which was used in place of artificial commercially available supplements like antibiotic and vitamin preparations.

In an article written by Dunkley (2008), she outlined the modes of action of prebiotics in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. It discussed that the most common prebiotic is the non-digestible carbohydrate, oligosaccharide. The “harmful” bacteria will be tricked in binding to the oligosaccharide instead to the usual binding site which the mucosa of the intestine. This condition reduces colonization of “harmful” bacteria decreasing infection to the animal’s gut. Since

the oligosaccharides are non-digestible, it is excreted and together with the bacteria that has been attached to the plant product. Claims were made that these juices are beneficial to the growth of both plant and animals (Cho 1995). Plant fermented juice is an extract of plants fermented with sugar which contains the plants’ active ingredients, chlorophyll and fibers. These classes of supplements were classified by Roberfroid (1995) as prebiotic. Onion is considered a condiment and contains the active ingredient quercitin and other chemicals beneficial to health. These studies however did not mention testing of this condiment as a supplement to broilers to improve its growth performance in lieu of sub therapeutic levels of antibiotic

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supplementation. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of onion juice to the growth production efficiency of broilers. Al-Kassi and Mohssen (2009) found out that organic acids had effects in the performance of broilers most especially in the weight gain. These acids can reduce the bacterial count of Escherichia coli, a commensal bacterium in the gut of animals including poultry. Multiplication of the bacteria in the gut flora of animals may result in enteritis as manifested in chronic diarrhea.

The literature presented extracts of plants in pure form which required complicated equipment. The complex extraction process may present problems in using plant extracts as supplement in the farm level. The study outlined a simple method which fermented the plant that juices had been extracted and supplemented it to test animals’ drinking water.

2.0 Methodology

The study used experimental method using three groups of chickens for comparison. Broiler chicken totaling 51 heads were used in this study divided into three treatments. Treatment 1 involved samplesthat received antibiotic preparations, treatment 2 consisted of chickens that were given the fermented onion juice and in treatment 3 the chickens received plain water.

The fermented juice was made according to the methods of

Miller et al. (2013). A ratio of .5kg sugar to 1 kg onion bulbs was the base of the extract. The onions were chopped using a blender and placed in a pail. Then the materials were mixed with brown sugar and covered with a plastic bag with a weight on it. After the 12 hours the weight removed, covered with a manila paper with a rubber band tied around the opening of the pail. On the seventh day, the juice was collected in a bottle and stored in a cool place.

The broilers were grown according to the traditional way of growing commercial chickens starting from the brooding to the finishing stage. In consideration of the experimental animals’ frail condition during brooding period which lasted up to 14 days, doses of antibiotic and vitamins were given for each treatment during the 1st three days and 7 to 9 days of the brooding period. The broilers were brooded in a common pen. In the 15th day of rearing, the birds were placed in the separate cages. The feeds and water were given adlibitum for each treatment. The birds’ production parameters were taken weekly. Sample weighing was done in a weekly basis starting from the 7th day up to the 35th day of rearing the chickens. In the final data gathering, the birds were fasted for 1 hour just like the traditional method of harvesting the broiler chickens.

The data were described and presented in tabular and graphical representations. Results of the production parameters were

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compared for its significant differences using ANOVA. The values that were found to be significantly different were computed using Scheffe Test for the least significant difference.

3.0 Results and Discussion

Graphical values in Figure 1

show uniform feeds consumption

from day 1 to day 24. From day 25

to day 32, treatment 2 exhibited low

feed consumption as compared to

treatment 1, while there was an

increased consumption by the

animals that received plain water.

On 33rd day and onwards, treatment

2 displayed increased feed

consumption comparable to

treatment one except in the last day

where the feeds were withdrawn

since the birds were prepared for

harvest. In treatment three however,

Figure 1. Feed consumption of broilers during grow-out period.

there was a decrease in feed

consumption as compared to

treatments 1 and 2. This indicates a

higher consumption rate to the birds

that received supplements than that

of the birds that received only water.

This only showed the need for

antibiotic supplementation in raising

broilers just as to maintain the

animals’ health from subclinical

infections that affect production as

discussed by Teshomee et al. (2007).

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Table 2. Average live weight of broilers.

Actual harvest at 35 days is indicated in Table 2, treatment 1 showed an increase in average live weight (ALW) as compared to treatment2 and treatment 3. The average live weight (ALW)of samples showed a significant difference between treatments (P=0.000).Treatment 3 has a significantly lower ALW than treatments 1 and 2 (P<0.01). The birds that received the fermented onion juice in treatment 2 has statistically comparable ALW to the birds that received the usual antibiotic-vitamin preparations (P=1.0). This means that the weight variation between birds that received antibiotic-vitamin preparations and the birds that received the FOJ (Fermented Onion Juice) had higher ALW than that of the birds that received water.

The results substantiated

again for the need for

supplementation in broiler raising.

This supplement should be able to

give the necessary vitamins so that

the animals can convert the feeds to

poultry meat efficiently as evidenced

by the weights of the samples. The

conversion efficiency of broilers is

measured by the feeds conversion

ratio (FCR), the lower the value, the

better the performance. It is because

the lower the consumption of feeds

with a better meat output which in

this case at a constant 1 kilogram.

Tabular values in Table 3 show FCR

of the broilers that differ

significantly between treatments

(P=0.001). The results proved that

the chickens in treatment 2 can

perform better than the broilers that

received no supplement and even

comparable to the birds that

consumed the antibiotic and vitamin

supplementation. The findings

showed similar results from the

works of Grashorn and Nasir (2009),

that there was a marked

improvement in performance of

animals supplemented with plant

products. As explained by Al-Kassi

and Mohssen (2009), plants contain

organic acids which had effects in

the performance of broilers

especially the weight gain.

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The conversion efficiency of

broilers is measured by the feeds

conversion ratio (FCR), the lower

the value, the better the

performance. It is because the lower

the consumption of feeds with a

better meat output which in this case

at a constant 1 kilogram. Tabular

values in figure 3 show FCR of the

broilers that differ significantly

between treatments (P=0.001).

Treatments 1 and 2 have the same

average FCR (P=1.0). This means

that in every 1.838 kilograms of

feeds consumed in treatments 1 and

2, the animals converted to 1

kilogram meat. For treatment 3, for

every 1 kilogram meat the animals

produced, about 2.1 kilograms of

feed were taken in by the individual

animal. The values signified that

the FOJ had effects comparable to

performance of animals that received

the medications for growth

promotion. Consequently, the

animals that received water in

treatment 3 performed poorly since

there were no supplement

preparations present in its body

system.

Table 3. The feeds conversion ratio of broilers supplemented with antibiotic, FOJ and water.

Table 4. Broiler performance efficiency of broilers supplemented with antibiotic, FOJ and

water.

The overall growth achievement of the experimental animals is revealed in the broiler performance efficiency (BPE). Figure 4 indicatesthat the performance of the birds in

treatment 3 is low as compared to treatments 1 and 2. Thesedifferences in BPE points vary significantly (P=.00).

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Table 5. Comparison of return of investment of treatments in a per kilo basis.

Treatment 3 has the lowest performance (P<.05) while treatments 1 and 2 have comparable results in terms of broiler performance (P<.05).

Figure 5 values present the implications of using FOJ to the cost to produce of broilers in a per kilogram basis. Birds that consumed the fermented juice have more or less the same ROI than the birds that consumed the antibiotic and vitamin preparations. This again showed the promising effects of the active ingredients of the fermented onion juice as an effective supplement to the nutrition of broilers.

4.0 Conclusion

Basing from the results of the study, the growth performance of broilers that received the fermented onion juice was comparable to the broilers that received the antibiotic

and vitamin supplementation. A 100% livability as shown in the study revealed no impending disease condition. However, there is still a need for sub-therapeutic doses of vitamin and antibiotic preparations to prevent emergence of diseases that affects production efficiency. (Macdonald and Wang 2009). The growth performance of the animals that received the FOJ is in congruence with the findings of previous studies that plant juices can have beneficial effects on the growth of animals. This was validated by the low performance of broilers that received only water.

5.0 References Cited

Al-Kassi A, Mohssen M. 2009. Comparative study between single organic acid effect and synergistic organic acid effect on broiler

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performance. Pakistan J Nutr. [accessed 2013 Dec]. http://www.pjbs.org/pjnonline/fin1267.pdf

Cho HK. 1995. Korean natural farming handbook.[accessed 2014 Aug]. http://rooftopecology.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/korean-natural-farming-fermented-plant-juice/

Dunkley C. 2008. The use of probiotics and prebiotics in poultry feeds. J Applied Res.[accessed 2013 Dec]. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1108/the-use-of-probiotics-and-prebiotics-in-poultry-feeds

MacDonald J, Wang S. 2009. Subtherapeutic antibiotics and U.S. broiler production, economic research service. U.S. Department of Agriculture [accessed 2013 Dec]. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/49198/2/AAEA%20broiler%20STA%20macdonald%20wang.pdf

Nasir Z, Grashorn M A. 2010. Effects of Echinacea purpurea and Nigella sativa supplementation on broiler performance, carcass and meat quality.J Animal Feed Sci. [accessed 2014 Aug]. www.ifzz.pl/index2.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task

Roberfroid M. 2007. The probiotic concepts revisited. J Nutrition.

[accessed 2013 Aug]. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/137/3/830S.abstract

Teshome R, Koelsch R, Wortmann C, Randle R, Abunyewa A. 2007. Antibiotic in animal production: environmental concerns. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. [accessed 2014 Aug]. http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/live/rp196/build/rp196.pdf

1Webel Glenn C. Dublado, 2Maria Yancy R. Dayola, 3Redney M. Solomon, and 4Amy C. Albert

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