Effects of Sclerocarya birrea oil and fulvic acid growth promoter in broiler diets on carcass characteristics, meat quality, and sensory attributes

A study was conducted to determine the effects of Sclerocarya birrea oil and fulvic acid growth promoters on carcass characteristics, meat quality, and sensory attributes in broilers. A total of 320 unsexed Cobb 500 broilers were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: a control diet containing the antibiotic Olaquindox; a CFF diet containing 2 g fulvic acid/kg feed without antibiotic; a CFFM diet containing 1.4 g fulvic acid/kg feed and 0.6 g marula oil/kg feed without antibiotic; and a CFM diet containing 2 g marula oil/kg feed without antibiotic. Each treatment was replicated eight times, with 10 birds per pen, and each pen was considered an experimental unit. The feeding trial was conducted over three feeding phases: starter (1–14 d), grower (15–28 d), and finisher (29–42 d). Dietary treatments had no effect (P > 0.05) on any carcass traits except backlength (P < 0.05). Dietary treatment had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on pH at 24 h, drip loss, water-holding capacity (WHC), or cooking loss, but did affect pH at slaughter (P < 0.05), with the highest value in the CFM diet (6.54 ± 0.08) and the lowest in the CFF diet (6.38 ± 0.11). Sensory evaluation of broiler meat produced from diets supplemented with marula oil and fulvic acid revealed significant differences in organoleptic properties compared with the control diet. Thus, Sclerocarya birrea oil and fulvic acid can be used as alternative growth promoters in broiler diets. Their complementary effects on carcass characteristics, meat quality, and sensory attributes were comparable to those of antibiotic growth promoters.