Effect of Noni Fruit (Morinda Citrifolia) Extract on Pre-Lay Sexual Development, Egg Production Performance, and Blood Metabolite Status of Laying Birds in Ghana.

Abstract

The 2020 per capita egg consumption of Ghana was 1.07 kg. The demand for poultry products also exceeds local production, and the shortfall in animal protein intake is more of a supply problem rather than a demand problem. Commercial laying birds are popular in Ghana due to their high egg-production capabilities amongst others thus enhancing the growth and egg production of layers can have a considerable impact on the livelihoods of poultry farmers and the overall agricultural economy of the country. Disease conditions in livestock and poultry production caused stunting and delays in reaching market weight resulting in economic losses. Anti-microbials and anti-parasitic drugs or pesticides were used on farms as interventions to enhance growth and productivity but contaminated the poultry products. Ingestion of these antimicrobials in the contaminated poultry products by humans caused anti-microbial-resistant bacteria to develop in them. Therefore, those interventions using antimicrobials as therapeutic and prophylactic agents for improving health, growth and production performance in poultry are being gradually discontinued and being replaced by phytogenic feed additives, due to the increased public awareness of the risk of developing cross-resistance of pathogens to antibiotics. The method of administering feed additives to the diet of poultry could influence their performance and immune competence an indication that administering through drinking water could be superior to the more conventional in-feed supplementation. In addition, the time of administration of the additive has also not received attention, especially in Ghana, with most scientists in literature administering additives both during early lay or late lying periods and not during the entire growth and production cycle of layer-type birds. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of noni fruit extract and physiological status on pre-lay sexual development performance, egg production performance from early to late lay, and on the overall health of layers. Four experiments were conducted involving 600 layer-type birds in two groups of 300 birds. The two groups of 300 layer-type birds were fed a regular layer ration. The first Group of 300 birds was allocated to the first three experiments, and the second group of 300 layer-type birds was used for the fourth experiment. The maximum yield and concentration of noni fruit extract used for the four experiments were determined in the laboratory. Experiment 1 had three treatments (T1, T2, and T3) with 20 pullets per treatment, respectively, that were replicated five times in a completely randomised design. Treatment one (T1) served as the control with 0 mg/ml noni fruit extract. Treatment two (T2) was composed of 20 mg/ml noni fruit extract and treatment three (T3) 40 mg/ml noni fruit extract administered through drinking water. This treatment structure was repeated for experiments 2 and 3, respectively. The treatments administered to the birds began at 16 weeks of age for experiment 1 and were run for 6 weeks. Daily feed and water consumption, as well as weight gain, were recorded. The trial for the first experiment ended at week 22 and 10 birds per treatment (2 birds per replicate) were randomly selected and euthanised. The right tibia bone (representing medullary bone), abdominal fat and reproductive tract (uterus) tissues to assess sexual development were collected at pre-lay. The age at first egg (a proxy measure of sexual maturity) was also recorded. Blood samples were collected from 10 randomly selected birds per treatment (2 birds per replicate) and analysed for their haematological and serum biochemistry. The results of the extraction and analysis of the noni fruit extract yielded 580ml/kg of fruit and an antioxidant capacity (concentration) of approximately 4.0 mg/ml at 8 weeks. The final body weight, daily weight gain, egg weight, and egg mass increased significantly in the birds that received 40 mg/ml noni fruit juice. Feed intake decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing concentration of noni fruit extract; however, water intake was similar (p > 0.05) among treatment groups. The noni fruit extract delayed the mean age at first egg, with the 20 mg/ml concentration causing the longest delay of 3.4 days compared to the 40 mg/ml concentration and the control groups. Significant reduction (p < 0.05) of abdominal fat, demonstrating anti obesity properties with dose effect of noni fruit extract was obtained. Additionally, the weight of the uterus and right tibia bone growth and mineralisation characteristics increased (p < 0.05) with increasing dose of noni fruit extract. Experiment 2 continued from week 22 using 270 layer-type birds randomly assigned to three treatments of 18 birds per treatment replicated five times in a completely randomised design. The second experiment lasted for 26 weeks and ended when the birds attained the age of 48 weeks. Eggs were collected at week 22; week 30 and week 48 representing the physiological stages (early-lay, peak-lay and late-lay) and used for internal egg quality assessments for the three physiological stages. Ten eggs per treatment were sampled to evaluate the effect of storage duration (5 different evaluation durations) on egg quality. The results of the second experiment showed that adding noni fruit extract up to 40 mg/ml to drinking water improved (p < 0.05) egg production performance indices (egg mass, %HDEP, FCR and NFEI) and the overall quality of eggs (AH, HU, yolk index, yolk colour and estimated eggshell thickness) with a dose effect. Over time, stored egg quality decreased, but noni fruit extract administered up to 40 mg/ml aided in slowing down the degradation process and preserved the yolk colour under ambient temperature. In experiment three, the application of noni fruit extract on the health status of the layers was evaluated using haematological and serum biochemical parameters. White blood cells (WBC), heterophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, red blood cells (RBC), haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and thrombocytes (Trb) and packed cell volume (PCV) The following biochemical profile measurements were analysed: total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), creatinine (CRE), urea, uric acid (UA), total bilirubin (TB), direct bilirubin (DB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). Others were total cholesterol (TCHOL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), triglycerides (TG), glucose (GLU), calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), chloride (CL-), and potassium (K+) ions, albumin/globulin ratio, AST/ALT ratio and globulin (GLB). Administration of noni fruit extract up to 40 mg/ml had considerable influence on the haematological and serum biochemical profile of laying hens with a dose effect. Physiological stage played a significant role in influencing these effects that were within normal reference range for chicken, demonstrating that noni fruit extract had no adverse effects on the physiology and health of the layer-type birds. In experiment four, 300 layer-type birds were used to evaluate egg production performance and quality characteristics, and health status with the administration of 40 mg/ml noni fruit extract. There were 3 treatments, each comprising of 5 replicates and 20 birds per treatment. Pullets in treatment 1 (control) received 0 mg/ml of noni extract from 16 weeks of age. Treatment 2 comprised 16-week-old pullets receiving 40 mg/ml of noni extracts in their drinking water. In treatment 3, the pullets were started on 0 mg/ml of noni fruit extract at 16 weeks of age. At 20 weeks of age, the layers were provided with 40 mg/ml of noni fruit extracts in their drinking water. At 16 weeks of age, the average body weight in all the 3 treatment groups was 1.3 ± 0.233 kg. Weekly body weights were measured in all the treatment groups from week 16 until week 22. The days at first egg (sexual maturity) were recorded. Other measurements (egg quality and haematological and serum biochemistry) were taken at 22, 30, and 48 weeks of age using the procedures outlined in experiments 2 and 3. The parameters measured were pre-lay growth and egg production performance characteristics, egg quality and blood metabolite indices as listed in experiments 1, 2, and 3. The sexual maturity of the birds that received noni fruit extract at 16 weeks was approximately 129 days compared to approximately 126 for birds that receive noni fruit extract at 20 weeks and the control group. At 22, 30 and 40 weeks of age the birds that received 40 mg/ml noni fruit extract at weeks 16 or 20 had similar (p > 0.05) body weights but higher (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. The significantly (p < 0.05) better pre-lay sexual development, egg production and performance, and egg freshness indices, as well as, reduced abdominal fat weight, and egg weight loss during storage, blood haematological indices and serum biochemical profile indicated a better health status of the birds that received 40 mg/ml noni fruit extract at 16 weeks compared to those of week 20 and control. Overall, the results from this study demonstrate the potential of noni fruit extract as a beneficial feed supplement that could enhance the productivity and health of poultry when administered at the onset of sexual development in the layer-type birds.