Effects of Opuntia Ficus-Indica Fruit Cake and Seeds on Growth Performance and Carcass Yield of Broiler Chickens

Benlaksira, Souheila Bouchra and Djeffal, Samia and Djeghim, Fairouz (2026) Effects of Opuntia Ficus-Indica Fruit Cake and Seeds on Growth Performance and Carcass Yield of Broiler Chickens. Journal of World's Poultry Research. 42 - 52. ISSN 2322455X

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Abstract

In dry and semi-arid environments, prickly pears (Opuntia ficus-indica) are commonly used for their nutritional and commercial value. Cladodes are used for animal feed, and the fruits are consumed as a traditional food. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of incorporating Opuntia ficus-indica (O. ficus-indica) fruit seeds and cakes into broiler chickens' diets. A total of 100 one-day-old broiler chickens with an average body weight of 52 grams were reared for 49 days and allocated to four dietary treatments. The first group received diets supplemented with 5 O. ficus-indica fruit seed (S5), and the second group received diets supplemented with 10 O. ficus-indica (S10). The third group received either fruit seed cakes at 5 (C5), and the fourth group received fruit seed cakes at 10 (C10). Broiler growth performance and efficiency were assessed weekly. Mortality was recorded for all groups during each rearing phase, and seven carcass characteristics were documented for ten broiler chickens at the end of the trial. Finally, to evaluate the safety of the plant inclusion, a panel of blood biochemical parameters, including total protein, cholesterol, urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and triglycerides, was analyzed on day 49. Supplementing at 10 notably increased carcass weight and yield, and both 5 and 10 levels significantly enhanced feed efficiency across the groups. Group S5 had the lowest consumption index value (1.67), while the control group had the highest (2.60). Compared to the control group, which received only a basic feed (69.06), Group S10 had the highest carcass yield (78.16). The biochemical parameters of all groups were in agreement with reference values and lower than those recorded in the control group. The current findings emphasized the potential of O. ficus-indica as a valuable feed additive to improve broiler growth and carcass quality, without affecting biochemical parameters. 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 licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article�s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article�s Creative Commons licence 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 licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. © The Author(s) 2026

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Biochemical parameter; Broiler chicken; Growth performance; Opuntia ficus-indica
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Page Range:	42 - 52
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of World's Poultry Research
Journal Index:	Scopus
Volume:	16
Number:	1
Publisher:	Scienceline Publication
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.36380/jwpr.2026.5
ISSN:	2322455X
Depositing User:	Dr. Daryoush Babazadeh
URI:	https://eprints.science-line.com/id/eprint/1767

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