Impact of kinnow peel and nano-limonin on the performance and meat quality of commercial broilers

This study was taken up with the objective to assess the effect of limonin on the performance of commercial broilers and quality of meat. Day old chicks (200) were divided into 8 groups, each group contained 4 replicates of 6 chicks each in equal sex ratio. The iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric diets were fed for 35 days, i.e. starter, grower and finisher phase. Kinnow peel powder (KPP) and solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) of kinnow peel powder containing 7.47 mg limonin/g was added in the required quantity of feed to supply 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg limonin/bird/day. The data was analyzed using 2×4 factorial design. The data revealed that the birds fed diet supplemented with SLN consumed more feed in comparison to those fed diet supplemented with KPP, resulting in higher gain in weight, but without affecting feed conversion ratio (FCR). The digestibility of CP was lower and that of CF was higher when diet was supplemented with SLN in comparison to the one supplemented with KPP. As compared to control diet, limonin up to 1% level did not have any adverse effect on the digestibility of nutrients, but it was depressed beyond 1% level of limonin supplementation. The limonin beyond 1% depressed the dressing percentage. It was concluded that nano-formulations @ 1.0 mg/bird/d is an effective carrier of limonins, leading to improved growth, health characteristics in broilers and meat enriched with limonin.