Effect of pawpaw (Carica papaya) leaf meal and dietary enzymes on broiler performance, digestibility, carcass and blood composition

Exogenous enzymes and phytogenic feed additives are proposed as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in poultry production. This study assessed the effect of pawpaw leaf meal (PLM) inclusion and enzyme (E) supplementation in the diet of broiler chickens. In total 288 Arbor-Acre day-old broiler chickens were used. Four diets were formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous: diet 1, control (0% PLM, 0% E), diet 2 (0% PLM, 0.05% E), diet 3 (5% PLM, 0% E), and diet 4 (5% PLM, 0.05% E). Each diet was replicated six times with 12 chickens in each batch. E improved (p