Effect of prebiotic supplementation on productive traits, carcass characteristics, and meat quality in growing broiler during the starter period

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the inclusion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae-derived prebiotic, on broiler’s diets as a potential substitute for antibiotics growth promoters (AGPs) in poultry production, on performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of broiler chickens. For a total of 224 (-1 days old) Arbor Acres chickens of either sex were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments each consisting of seven replicates and each replicates having 8 birds/ cage. The experiment duration was 42 days. The dietary treatments were (P0) The birds were fed a basal diet without prebiotic, (P1) basal diet with 1g of prebiotic, (P2) basal diet with 1.5g of prebiotic, and (P3) basal diet with 2g of prebiotic. Average weight (AW), Daily Weight Gain (DWG), FI (Feed Intake), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), Mortality Rate (MR), hot and cold carcass weight, yield, and muscle weights were measured. Meat quality was evaluated by determining the pH and color values of the CIE Lab Color System. A sensory analysis was performed. Results showed no significant difference in growth performance (P>0.05). Indeed, the control group had a significantly higher BW compared with experimental treatments P1, P2, and P3. Furthermore, broiler DWG did not differ (P>0.05) between the control and the experimental groups. Likewise, no significant differences were observed between treatments regarding FI, FCR, and mortality (P>0.05). The overall mortality rate during the experimental period was low in the control group (0%) compared to the group fed prebiotic (0.2%). No significant effect was observed regarding pH 30 min and ultimate pH (P>0.05). However, a significant difference has occurred in the meat color (P= 0.03). Therefore, meat quality showed no alteration when prebiotic was added during the starter period. It was concluded that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae-derived prebiotic added to the broiler diet at doses up to 2g/kg during the starter period did not improve performance, but could maintain meat quality. Further investigations are needed to clarify the effect of duration prebiotics administration on meat quality in broiler chickens.