Lorenzo Miguel E. Cruz, Maria Paulina L. Mayor (March 2013)
Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus – Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PSHS WVC), Brgy. Bito-on, Jaro, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines
ABSTRACT
In 2010, Ashong and Brown have attempted to formulate a Malunggay feed; however, the chicks had a lower food intake when given treatments of 10%, 20% and 30% Malunggay feed over the commercial feed. A possible cause of the low food intake is the presence of saponins, an anti-nutritional element in Malunggay that causes its bitterness and reduces its palatability. The main objective of this study was to enhance a 20% Moringa oleifera (Malunggay) added feed for Gallus domesticus (Broiler Chickens) chick boosters. It specifically aimed to develop a saponin reduced 20% Malunggay added feed, to determine the saponin content of Malunggay powder washings, to characterize a saponin reduced 20% Malunggay added feed (SRMF) and 20% Malunggay added feed (MF) in terms of: Crude Protein, Crude Fat, Crude Fiber, and Moisture, to measure and compare the food intake (g) of chicks fed for 14 days with SRMF, MF, and commercial feed at days 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10, and to measure and compare the weight (g) of chicks fed for 14 days with SRMF, MF, and commercial feed at Days 1, 7, and 14. For 2 weeks, 30 day-old chicks were randomly assigned to groups of 10 fed for each treatment. Five-minute tests were conducted on to measure feed intake. The chickens were also weighed. It was found that bot Malunggay feeds had a greater percent of crude protein (>22%) and a lesser percent of crude fat (<4%) compared to commercial feed. Also, there was no significant difference between the feed intakes of chicks given treatments 1 and 2 but the chicks in both groups, however, had a significant increase in feed intake from those fed with treatment 3. The highest average weight was gained by chicks fed with treatment 1 and the least was gained by those fed with treatment 3, but there is no significant difference in the weight gained in all feed groups. In conclusion, it was not necessary to enhance the Malunggay feed by reducing the saponin content of the powder because unlike Ashong and Brown’s study, a different method of preparation was used (Malunggay as an additive) and the chicks were given the treatments on day 1 instead of day 7 so the chicks did not need to adapt to the new feed.