Impact of blends of neem and sweet potato leaf meals on meat quality of broiler chickens
2025
Akintomide, Aanuoluwapo Adeyemi
The rising cost of conventional poultry feed and the demand for healthier, naturally produced poultry meat have led to the adoption of alternative plant-based feed resources for chickens. This study examined the effects of incorporating neem leaf meal (NLM) and sweet potato leaf meal (SPLM) into the diet on broiler meat quality over a 42-day feeding trial. Five blend ratios of NLM: SPLM (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100) were included at 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% inclusion levels, resulting in 16 experimental diets, including a control group. A total of 576 day-old Marshall broiler chicks were assigned to 16 treatments using a completely randomised design, with three replicates of four birds each. At the end of the feeding trials, birds were slaughtered, and meat samples were assessed. Moisture content was measured using oven-drying, lipid oxidation through the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay, and cooking and thaw losses via standard boiling and refrigeration procedures. A sensory panel evaluated palatability, while shank pigmentation was visually scored on a 5-point scale. Results revealed that moisture content ranged from 70.84 to 75.00%, and lipid oxidation remained low, with the lowest value (0.05 mg MDA/kg) found in chest meat from the 15% NLM group. The 50:50 NLM: SPLM blend at 10% inclusion (Diet C) showed a low chest thaw loss (1.07%) and good palatability (6.33). Moderate inclusion of NLM and SPLM, particularly at a 10% 50:50 blend, can improve broiler meat quality while providing an alternative to conventional feed inputs.
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