Silvi Annas Tasya, Veronica Margareta Ani Nurgiartiningsih, Fajar Shodiq Permata, Muhammad Sasmito Djati, Yuli Frita Nuningtyas, Adelina Ari Hamiyanti, Muhammad Halim Natsir
In poultry production, the transition to antibiotic-free systems has resulted in an increased demand for effective natural growth promoters. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a mash-form feed additive made from microwave-extracted ginger, turmeric, and teak leaf phytobiotics, combined with a multi-strain bacterium as a probiotic, administered at graded inclusion levels in broiler chickens. A 35-day feeding experiment was conducted with 300 broiler chickens, arranged in a completely randomized design with five dietary treatments and five replicates per treatment. In the first group, chickens received only the basal diet and served as the control (T0). The treatment groups received the basal feed top-dressed with the phytobiotic and probiotic additive at inclusion levels of 0.2% (T1), 0.4% (T2), 0.6% (T3), and 0.8% (T4). Measurements of performance, including body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), performance index, and income over feed cost (IOFC), were collected and analyzed. High-performance liquid chromatography confirmed the presence of key bioactive compounds, such as curcumin and 6-gingerol. The inclusion of 0.2% bacterium as a probiotic additive resulted in optimal BWG, FCR, and the highest IOFC, indicating that this level was biologically effective and economically efficient. In contrast, higher inclusion levels of bacteria as probiotics led to reduced performance, likely due to polyphenol-induced mineral binding and issues with feed palatability. The co-administration of probiotics may enhance the bioavailability of curcumin and promote a healthier gut environment. The present findings highlighted the potential of phytobiotic-probiotic combinations as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters when used at optimal dose levels. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Science, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia; Department of Veterinary Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia; Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia
