Citation of this paper

Effects of black saffron supplement on growth performance of Tau Vang chicken period 7-14 weeks of age

Pham Tan Nha, Nguyen Thi Kim Dong¹ and Le Thu Thuy

Cantho University, Cantho City, Vietnam
¹ TayDo University, Cantho City, Vietnam

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of black saffron supplement on the growth performance of Tau Vang chicken in 7-14 week old period. It was a completely randomized design with 5 treatments corresponding to 5 diets and 4 replications with 10 birds per experimental unit. The treatments were the different black saffron supplement levels of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 % (in DM) to basal diet, corresponding to the S0, S01, S02, S03 and S04 treatments. The results showed that the daily intakes of DM, OM, CP, EE and ME were significantly higher (P<0.05) for the 3 last treatments (the S02, S03 and S04 treatments). The significantly higher daily weight gain, final live weight and the lower FCR were found for the S03 treatment (P<0.05). The black saffron supplement in the diets of Tau Vang chicken improved the carcass, breast meat and thigh meat weights (P<0.05). The adding black saffron into the diet, the triglyceride and total cholesterol index in the blood of local chicken decreases, which is good for the health of chicken. Consumers using low triglyceride and total cholesterol chicken meat will be good for their health as well. It was concluded that black saffron supplementation in the diet at a level of 0.4% DM improved growth performance for growing Tau Vang chicken production and it showed that black saffron made quantification of triglyceride and quantification of total cholesterol in chicken blood decrease.

Key words: triglyceride, total cholesterol

Introduction

Tau Vang chicken is originally Vietnamese local breed, which has been popularly raised in the Mekong delta of Vietnam. It can tolerate the harsh conditions and low quality diets, however it gives good meat with more than double price as compared to commercial chicken (Pham Tan Nha, 2019). Black saffron, ginger additives in diets give better health and meat quality of chicken. It is concluded that supplementation of garlic improves the performance of broilers when added at the level of 1% of broiler ration and could be a viable alternative to antibiotic growth promoter in the feeding of broiler chicken (Issa & Omar, 2012).

In recent years some plant additives such as garlic, black saffron, etc. in diets for feeding gave better health, improved growth rate and carcass quality of chicken. The results of the recent study are in agreement with the previous findings Al-Shuwaili M A et al (2015), who reported garlic powder supplementation in basal diet of broiler chicken significantly increased the body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Okoleh et al. (2014) also observed that the birds supplemented garlic had better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than those in control group (2.17 vs 2.53). The objective of this study to determine optimum level of garlic supplement in diets on growth performance and carcass quality of growing Tau Vang chicken were raised under the conditions of the Mekong delta of Vietnam for the useful recommendations to the producers.

Materials and meyhods

Location and climate of the study area

Experiment was conducted from August to November in 2020, at a private farm (a householder) in Vinh Long province. The chemical analysis of feeds was done at the laboratory of the Department of Animal sciences, Faculty of Agriculture of Can Though University.

Experimental animals

One day old-Tau Vang chicken were bought from a Tau Vang breeding farm in Long An province. Chicks from 2 to 28 days were fed special concentrate pellet (20% CP). Chicks from 25 to 42 days were fed concentrate pellet and supplemented a small amount of experimental diets. The chicken at 43 days of age were introduced to the trial, all birds were vaccinated H5N1, Newcastle and some common diseases before using in the trial.

Experimental design and treatments

Two hundred Tau Vang chicken at 7 weeks of age (420 ± 17.20 g/bird) were allotted in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and 4 replicates, and 10 birds per experimental unit (balanced sex). The treatments were the different black saffron supplement levels of 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4% to concentrate basal diets, corresponding to the S0 (basal diet), S01, S02, S03 and S04 treatments, respectively). The trial lasted 8 weeks with Tau Vang chicken from 7 to 14 weeks of age. Feed ingredients of basal diet was presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Feed ingredient composition of concentrate basal diet in the experiment
Feed	(%)	Feed	(%)

Rice bran	4.8	Premix vitamin	0.40
Maize	35.1	Premix mineral	0.50
Fish meal	10.4	CaCO₃	0.49
Broken rice	36.2	DCP	0.51
Soybean extraction	11.6

Feeds and preparation of black saffron

Black saffron was bought at a supermarket, then peeled and cut into 1-2mm pieces and dried for 4-5 days under sunlight. After drying, the black saffron was ground to black saffron powder by meat grinder. All feed ingredients were bought in one occasion from feed store for throughout the experiment. The basal diet was formulated and contained 12.9 MJ ME/kgDM and 18% CP. Black saffron powder was finely mixed with the concentrate following experimental design before feeding. Chemical compositions of black saffron, feed ingredients and basal diet were presented in Table 2 and 3.


Photo 1. Raw black saffron	Photo 2. Black saffron flour

Table 2. Chemical compositions of black saffron (DM)
Item	(%)

Water	6.0
CP	8.5
EE	8.9
Carbohydrate	69.9
Calcium	0.2
Iron	047.5
Niacin	0.005
Acid ascorbic	0.05
Tran thi Viet Hoa, (2007)

Table 3. Chemical compositions of feed ingredients and basal diet (% DM)
Feed Item	Maize	Broken rice	Rice bran	Soybean Extraction	Fish meal	Basal diet

DM	88.6	86.7	86.0	89.5	91.9	89.1
OM	98.6	99.5	89.6	94.8	78.1	91.8
CP	8.08	9.29	12.5	43.4	60.4	18.1
EE	4.85	0.82	18.1	1.22	12.7	4.01
CF	2.12	0.59	6.59	5.44	0.19	3.65
NDF	28.5	7.35	32.1	12.3	11.0	17.9
Ash	1.40	0.51	10.4	6.82	21.9	8.24
ME (MJ/kgDM)	13.9	13.5	13.0	10.3	12.6	12.9
DM: dry matter, OM: orgarnic matter, CP: crude protein, EE: ether extraction, CF: crude fibre , NDF: neutral detergent fibre, ME: metablolizable ernergy ( Janssen et al. 1989)

Housing and management

House for birds was made by wood and tole. Experimental birds were confined in pens with 2.5 m²/10 birds, which were surrounded by wood, plastic net and its floor was overlaid with 20 cm of sand and rice straw layer in its surface for bedding. Feeders and drinkers were put in front of each cage. Feeders and drinkers were cleaned daily every morning and chicken litters were removed weekly. The birds were fed 3 times daily at 7.00, 13.00 and 17.00 h and feed offered to the birds was weekly adjusted by an increase from 5 % to 10% according to real feed intake. Birds were freely to access water.

Measurements

Daily intakes of feed and nutrients: feed and refusals were collected and weighed daily morning.

Daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio: the birds were weighed weekly and at the end of experiment.

Carcass values: after finishing 4 birds (2 male and 2 female) per each experimental unit were slaughtered for the evaluation of carcass traits. Body measurements of birds were described by Salomon (1996).

Chemical analyses

Feeds offered were analyzed for chemical compositions: DM, OM, CP, EE, CF, Ash. They were analyzed following procedures of AOAC (1990). NDF analysis was followed the Van Soest et al. (1991) and ME was calculated by Janssen (1989).

Statistical analysis

Data were analyzed by using General Linear Model (GLM) of Minitab program 16.1.0 (Minitab, 2010) and the comparison of significant difference between two treatments was done by Tukey method of Minitab (2010).

Results and discussion

Daily intakes of feed and nutrients of growing Tau Vang chicken

Table 4. Daily intakes of feed and nutrient of Tau Vang chicken (g/bird)
Item	Treatment						SE	p
Item	S0	S01		S02	S03	S04	SE	p

DM	61.6^b	62.2^b	63.0^b		63.6^a	63.2^a	0.47	0.01
OM	56.5^b	57.0^b	57.8^ab		58.4^a	57.9^ab	1.85	0.04
CP	11.1^b	11.2^b	11.4^a		11.5^a	11.4^a	0.07	0.02
EE	2.47^b	2.49^b	2.53^a		2.55^a	2.53^a	0.04	0.01
CF	2.25	2.27	2.30		2.32	2.30	0.03	0.06
NDF	11.0^b	11.1^b	11.3^a		11.4^a	11.3^a	0.09	0.01
Ash	5.07^b	5.12^b	5.19^a		5.24^a	5.20^a	0.06	0.01
ME (MJ/kg/DM)	0.79^b	0.80^ab		0.81^a	0.82^a	0.81^a	0.01	0.02
^a,b Mean values with different superscripts within the same row are different at P<0 05

Daily intakes of DM, OM, CP, EE and NDF were significantly lower (P<0.05) for the birds given S0 diet than for other diets with the highest values observed in bird group fed S0.3 diet. The DM and CP intakes in the present trial are higher than those of a previous study on Tau Vang chicken (45.9-49.4 gDM/day; 9.17-9.59 gCP/day, respectively) reported by Nguyen Thanh Nhan (2012). The ME intake was significantly higher for the birds in the S03 treatment (P<0.05) than for the birds in the S0 treatment, possibly due to higher DM intake.

Effects of dietary different black saffron supplement on the growth performance of growing Tau Vang chicken

Table 5. Daily weight gain, final live weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of Tau Vang chicken (g/bird)
Item	Treatment					SE	p
Item	S0	S01	S02	S03	S04	SE	p

Initial live weight	415	438	405	441	472.5	17.2	0.18
Final live weight	1381^b	1435^a	1409^ab	1475^a	1475^a	15.3	0.01
Daily weight gain	17.2^b	17.8^ab	17.9^ab	18.4^a	17.9^ab	0.29	0.03
FCR	3.57^a	3.49^ab	3.52^ab	3.44^b	3.53^ab	0.05	0.01
CP/ weight gain (g/kg)	643^a	641^a	650^a	620^b	631^ab	9.40	0.02
^{a, b} Mean values with different superscripts within the same row are different at P<0 05

Table 5 shows that daily weight gain (DWG) was lower for the birds without supplementing black saffron (S0 treatment) than those fed black saffron, and the significantly higher result found in the S03 treatment (P<0.05). The explanation was that the birds in this treatment had higher DM, OM, CP, EE and ME intakes. The results of DM intake and daily weight gain in a current study are in agreement with the findings that supplementing 3% garlic powder (in DM) in diet for kids which improved feed consumption and weight gain (Okali Usur, 2020). The DWGs obtained are closed with the results of 18.5g-19.7 g/bird, but being slightly higher than the values of 15.3 -16.8 g/bird in previous trials on Tau Vang chicken (Huynh Thanh Yen, 2017; Nguyen Van Nhan, 2017, respectively). Final live weights were significantly higher for the birds supplemented black saffron than that of those in the S0 treatment (P<0.05), resulting from higher daily weight gain. The final live weights in this trial are in a range of 1319- 1471g of a previous experiment on Tau Vang chicken (Nguyen Thanh Nhan, 2012). Results of CP consumption/weight gain were significantly lower for the birds in the S03 treatment (P< 0.05). FCR of Tau Vang chicken was better in the S03 treatment (P <0.05), it could be due to higher daily weight gain. The results of FCR are consistent with the values of 3.24-3.53 reported by Pham Tan Nha (2019).

Figure 1. The effect of black saffron on daily weight gain

Figure 2. The effect of black saffron on FCR

Effects of dietary different black saffron supplement on carcass quality of growing Tau Vang chicken

Table 6. Caracass values and internal organs of Tau Vang chicken supplemented black saffron in diets (g.bird)
Item	Treatment					SE	p
Item	S0	S01	S02	S03	S0.4	SE	p

Slaughter live weight	1380^b	1435^a	1409^ab	1475^a	1475^a	27.7	0.017
Carcass weight	983^c	1035^ab	1022^b	1075^a	1072^a	33.1	0.038
% Carcass	71.2	72.1	72.5	72.9	72.7	1.99	0.767
Breast meat weight	187.7^c	199.7^bc	209.4^b	232.3^a	226.3^a	9.46	0.004
% Breast meat	19.1	19.3	20.5	21.6	21.1	0.81	0.058
Thigh meat weight	116^c	123^b	124^b	131^a	130^a	3.13	0.040
%Thigh meat	11.8	11.9	12.1	12.2	12.1	0.46	0.746
Heart weight	9.0	10.3	8.00	10.3	8.67	0.89	0.079
Liver weight	23.0	20.3	24.3	22.7	21.7	4.27	0.670
Cecal length, cm	13.0	11.9	13.5	12.7	13.8	1.24	0.825
^{a .b. c} Mean values with different superscripts within the same row are different at P<0 05

Slaughter weights of chicken were correspondent to the final live weights. Carcass weight was significantly higher in the S03 treatment (P<0.05) (Table 6). Percentage of carcass was closed among the treatments (P> 0.05), these results are in a range of 70.9% - 73.5%, published by Huynh Thanh Yen (2017). Breast meat and thigh meat weights were significantly highest in S03 treatment. Percentages of breast meat and thigh meat were resembled among the treatments (P> 0.05). All internal organs were not significantly different among the treatments (P>0.05).

Table 7. Blood biochemical indicators of Tau Vang chicken supplemented black saffron in diets (mmol/L)
Item	Treatment					Normal index of human
Item	S0	S01	S02	S03	S04	Normal index of human

Quantification of Triglyceride	1.04	0.89	0.81	0.73	0.49	0.46 - 1.88
Quantification of total cholesterol	3.80	2.9	2.9	2.7	2.1	3.9 - 5.2
HDL-C (High density lipoprotein Cholesterol)	2.47	2.08	1.58	2.30	1.57	> 0.9
LDL-C (Low density lipoprotein Cholesterol)	1.24	0.82	1.66	1.00	0.78	< 3.4
Quantification of Albumin (g/L)	15.70	16.8	13.8	15.1	12.8	34 - 48
Center Lab Vietnam of Cantho city

The Triglyceride index is high, it will affect the blood transport process that will cause many negative effects on health.

Fat accumulation in the walls of blood vessels for a long time will cause narrowing of the coronary arteries, causing heart attacks and strokes. If the Triglyceride index is high, often, the patient is at risk of atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, obesity, hyperlipidemia.

The adding black saffron into the diet, the Triglyceride index in the blood of local chicken decreases, which is good for the health of chicken. Consumers using low Triglyceride chicken meat will be good for their health as well. Triglyceride index was lowest in treatment S04 (0.49 mmol/L).

Figure 3. The effect of black saffron on quantification of triglyceride

Quantification of total cholesterol decrease from SO treatments to S04 treatments It was highest at SO treatments (3.80 mmol/L) and It was lowest at SO4 treatment (2.1 mmol/L). This showed that black saffron made quantification of total cholesterol in chicken blood decrease. HDL-C, LDL-C and Quantification of Albumin decrease from SO treatments to S04 treatments, it was lowest at S04 treatments (1.57 mmol/L, 0.78 mmol/L and 12.8 g/L; respectively).

Figure 4. The effect of black saffron on quantification of total cholesterol

Cholesterol is an essential and indispensable factor for the body. However, if the body is provided with too much cholesterol, unused cholesterol can accumulate in blood vessels. For a long time, it will form plaques, narrow and clog blood vessels, cause many cardiovascular disease and stroke risk.

The total cholesterol test index reflects the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the higher the total cholesterol test result is, the greater the risk of cardiovascular disease is.

When adding black saffron, the total cholesterol in the blood of local chicken decrease, which is good for the health of chicken as well as for human health when using this chicken meat.

The lowest total cholesterol in the treatment was S04 (2.1 mmol/L)

Conclusions

It was concluded that black saffron supplementation in the diet at a level of 0.4% DM improved growth performance for growing Tau Vang chicken production and it showed that black saffron made quantification of triglycerid and quantification of total cholesterol in chicken blood decrease.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the JAPAN’s ODA Project for finance and gave me the opportunity to undertake this experiment.

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