Effects of Fermented Pineapple Peel and Indigofera zollingeriana Leaves on Intestinal Bacterial Population, Performance, and Carcass Traits in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

The prohibition of antibiotic growth promoters has necessitated the exploration of alternative functional feed additives from agricultural waste to maintain poultry health and productivity. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with fermented synbiotics derived from pineapple peel (Ananas comosus) and Indigofera zollingeriana leaves on growth performance, carcass traits, intestinal bacterial populations, and internal organ weights in broiler chickens. A total of 100 one-day-old broiler chickens with an average initial body weight of 42 ± 2 g were randomly allocated to five treatments with four replications in a completely randomized design. The dietary treatments initiated on day 1 continued for 28 days and consisted of a basal diet supplemented with fermented synbiotic (FS) at levels of 0% (control), 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, and 1.00%. The FS powder was mixed directly into the basal diet as a top-dressing and provided daily for the entire 28-day experimental period. Feed intake and body weight were recorded weekly. Parameters measured included feed consumption, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, live weight, carcass percentage, abdominal fat percentage, income over feed cost, relative organ weights (liver, heart, gizzard, pancreas), small intestinal pH, and populations of lactic acid bacteria and Salmonella typhimurium. Results demonstrated that supplementation at 1.00% significantly improved body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, live weight, carcass percentage, and income over feed cost compared to the control group. Small intestinal pH decreased from 7.03 (control) to 4.56 (1.00% FS). Lactic acid bacteria populations increased significantly from 1.58 (control) to 3.83 × 10⁶ CFU/g (1.00% FS), while Salmonella typhimurium counts were reduced from 0.97 (control) to 0.17 × 10⁶ CFU/g (1.00% FS). No significant effects were observed on relative organ weights across all treatments compared to the control group. In conclusion, fermented synbiotics from pineapple peel and Indigofera zollingeriana leaves at 1.00% optimally enhanced growth performance, carcass quality, and intestinal health while improving economic returns in broiler chickens, offering a viable and sustainable alternative to antibiotic growth promoters.