DIETARY EFFECTS OF GREEN TEA EXTRACT AN ALTERNATIVE OF ANTIBIOTIC ON BROILER PRODUCTION

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of green tea extract as alternative of antibiotic on broiler production. Experiment was conducted for a period of 35 days with a number of 100 day old cob-500 broiler chicks. Birds were divided into five dietary treatment groups with 4 replications each having 5 birds per replication. Green tea extract (GTE) was supplemented in the diets as a natural growth promoter at three different levels (0.5%, 1% and 2%).Broilers fed on the GTE diets were compared to those fed on the un-supplemented (control) and antibiotic (oxytetracyline). Significant differences were observed in body weight, feed intake and feed efficiency among the GTE supplemented group. Also significantly higher breast muscle weight than other treatments (p<0.05). Blood serum cholesterol were significantly reduced (p<0.05) by GTE feeding. In conclusion, the GTE supplementation at 0.5% may be suitable for growth performance and improve feed efficiency for broiler production.