EFFECT OF ADMINISTERING AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF MORINDA LUCIDA LEAVES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF BROILER CHICKENS FED AN AFLATOXIN B1 CONTAMINATED DIET

Abstract

Despite the potential benefits, medicinal plant aqueous extracts, which play a vital role in providing essential micronutrients and enhancing gut performance for animal well-being have not received adequate attention. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing the impact of administering aqueous Morinda lucida leaf extract (MLLE) on the performance of broiler chickens fed aflatoxin B1 contaminated diets. Two hundred day-old Cobb 500 broiler chickens were meticulously selected and allocated to four dietary treatments with five replicates (10 birds/replicate) in a completely randomized design The dietary treatments were coded as: Diet 1 (Control) had no aflatoxin B1 contamination, while Diets 2 to 4 were contaminated with 0.5 g/kg aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) each. Birds fed Diet 3 were orally administered 1 g/litre of aqueous MLLE, prepared by soaking in graduated hot water the day before administration, and sieved before given to the birds. Birds fed Diet 4 were given 2 g/litre of aqueous MLLE. At intervals of 7 days, the body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured. The BWG of birds fed Diet 2 (2291.49 g/bird) was significantly (P < 0.05) lower compared to those in Diets 1, 3, and 4 (2698.09, 2745.40, and 2741.09 g/bird, respectively). The FI across the dietary treatments was not significantly (P > 0.05) affected. Birds fed Diets 3 and 4 had the lowest FCR of 1.27 each compared to others. In conclusion, administering aqueous Morinda lucida leaf extract at 1 g/litre to broiler chickens exposed to a diet contaminated with 0.5 mg/kg Aflatoxin B1 improved the performance of the birds.