Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Barley Malt Extract and Malt Vinegar on Growth Performance, Jejunal Morphology and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of barley malt extract and barley malt vinegar on growth performance, jejunal morphology and meat quality of broilers. A total of 600 day-old chicks were allocated to four dietary treatments to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of 0.2% barley malt extract alone or along with 0.4 or 0.8% of malt vinegar as well as the control group. The results of the experiment have shown that dietary supplementation of 0.2% malt extract along with 0.4% malt vinegar resulted in a higher average daily gain (p = 0.007) and European production efficiency factor (p = 0.028) concomitantly lower feed conversion ratio (P = 0.047) compared to the birds were fed the control diet or supplemented by 0.2% malt extract along with 0.8% malt vinegar. Dietary supplementation of 0.2% malt extract increased the apparent absorption of surface area in the jejunum (P = 0.024). Moreover, dietary supplementation of malt extracts and malt vinegar alleviated malondialdehyde formation in the breast and thigh muscles (p < 0.05). Ceca microflora enumeration did not differ among the dietary treatments. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 0.2% malt extract along with 0.4% malt vinegar may improve broiler growth performance and alleviate lipid oxidation.