Effect of dietary mulberry (Morus alba) leaves on performance parameters and quality of breast meat of broilers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the dietary mulberry leaves given to broiler chicken on their performance and on the quality of the breast meat. The experiment was conducted for 4 weeks, on 114 broilers, aged 21 days. The broilers were assigned to 3 groups (C, E1 and E2) with 38 animals per group. The diets for groups E1 and E2 also included mulberry leaves 2 and 5%, respectively. The birds had free access to the feed and water. The average daily feed intake (g/day/broiler), average daily weight gain (g/day/broiler), final weight (g) and feed conversion ratio (g feed/g gain) were not significantly different among the 3 groups. The fatty acid content of the breast muscle had the following evolution: the concentration of saturated fatty acids decreased, while the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids increased by 14.53% in groups E1 and 25.58% in E2 compared to the control group, the difference between groups E2 and C being significant. The cholesterol concentration decreased in the experimental groups, the difference between groups E2 and C also being significant. The inclusion of up to 5% mulberry leaves in broiler diets did not have adverse effects on broiler performance, while it increased the quality of the breast muscle by decreasing the concentration of saturated fatty acids, omega 6 (n-6) to omega 3 (n-3) ratio, and also the concentration of cholesterol.