Effect of Grape Pomace Fermented with Probiotic Microorganisms on Growth Performance, Meat Quality, Antioxidant Capacity, Serum Biochemistry and Some Cecal Microorganisms in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Grape pomace (GP) is a by-product of the fruit juice and wine industries. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary inclusion of GP and fermented grape pomace (FGP) on the growth performance, meat quality, antioxidant capacity, serum biochemistry and some cecal microorganisms in broiler chickens. The GP was fermented using Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or Aspergillus niger. One hundred and fifty chicks were assigned to five dietary treatment groups in a completely randomized design. Each treatment group was replicated five times with six birds per replicate. The birds were fed with basal diet (control), a basal diet supplemented with 5 g/kg of GP, FGP using L. acidophilus (FGL), FGP using S. cerevisiae (FGS) or FGP using A. niger (FGA) for 42 days. The dietary inclusion of GP, FGS, and FGA improved (P = 0.006 and P < 0.001, respectively) the feed conversion ratio of broiler chickens compared with the control group from days 22 to 42 and from days 1 to 42. Dietary supplementation with FGL or FGS increased (P = 0.041) the GPx-4 level in the serum of chickens compared to the control or FGA groups. Dietary GP and FGA increased (P = 0.018) the b* value of breast meat compared to the control group. The results suggest that GP and FGA can be used as growth promoters and natural colorants, FGS can be used as growth promoter and natural antioxidant, and FGL can be used as natural antioxidant in broiler diets.