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