INFLUENCE OF DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH CURRY, MINT AND PAWPAW LEAVES ON MICROBIAL ANALYSIS OF SPENT LAYER’S MUSCLES AND MEAT AT DIFFERENT POST MORTEM AGEING PERIOD

Abstract

A study conducted on microbial analysis of spent layer muscles and meat at different ageing period fed diets supplemented with curry, mint and pawpaw leaves. A total of 210 spent layers were randomly allocated to seven broiler finisher diets in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) manner: (BFD) containing no supplement, 2 kg pawpaw leaf powder (PLP), 2 kg curry leaf powder (CLP), 2 kg mint leaf powder (MLP), 1 kg CLP + 1 kg PLP, 1 kg MLP + 1 kg PLP and 1 kg CLP +1 kg MLP levels for T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 and T7 respectively. The research was based on one week adaptation period and two weeks feeding exposure to the supplement compositions. Data on microbial loads were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using factorial design. Results obtained revealed that PLP at 2 kg level of supplementation significantly reduced bacterial loads while post-mortem
Ageing (PMA) did not affect bacterial loads count. Higher frequencies of bacterial loads were observed at 12 hours PMA and different bacteria species were also identify. The study recommended supplement of 2 kg PLP should be used in the diet of spent layers to improve shelf life of spent layer meat.