Supplementation of waste tea fungal biomass as a dietary ingredient for broiler chicks.
The waste tea fungal biomass produced during black tea fermentation was investigated as a dietary ingredient in poultry feeds. A small portion of fungal mat was used as starter culture for the next cycle while the major portion is discarded as waste. Hence a trial study was carried out to utilize the waste fungal biomass as a supplementary diet for broiler chicks. The fungal biomass contained 179.38 g of crude protein, 120 g crude fibre, 4.82 g phosphorus, 6.56 g of calcium and 8.92 MJ metabolizable energy per kilogram of biomass. The dried tea fungus showed phytase activity of 23 IU/mg protein. The supplementation of tea fungal inclusion (TFI) at 150 g/kg concentration in poultry feed increased the feed consumption, body weight, performance efficiency factor (PEF) and the carcass characters of test broilers significantly (P=0.01) over the control. The histopathological examination of liver showed no abnormalities and the mortality rate was zero.
Murugesan
G S
GS
Department of Biotechnology, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam 638 401, India.
Sathishkumar
M
M
Swaminathan
K
K
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000517:prevention & control; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D013662:Tea / Q000382:microbiology*; D015002:Yeast, Dried / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
D007220:Industrial Waste; D013662:Tea