COMPOSITION AND FEEDING VALUE OF PINEAPPLE PEEL WASTE FOR NOILER COCKS
Abstract
The increasing cost of conventional feed ingredients has intensified the search for sustainable and cost-effective alternative feed resources for poultry production. This study evaluated the effects of microbial fermentation on the nutritional composition, phytochemical profile, and feeding value of pineapple peel waste (PPW) for Noiler cocks. Pineapple peel waste was fermented separately with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus niger, and Lactobacillus fermentum using standardized solid-state fermentation conditions (100 g dried PPW, 65% moisture, 106 CFU/g inoculum, 30°C, 5 days). Eighty 17-week-old Noiler cocks (average initial body weight 1,412.25 ± 4.87 g) were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with four replicates of four birds each, and fed the experimental diets for five weeks. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at P < 0.05 significance level. Microbial fermentation significantly (P < 0.05) improved the nutritional quality of PPW. Yeast-fermented PPW recorded the highest ether extract (7.43%), nitrogen-free extract (68.20%), and metabolisable energy (3,899.90 kcal/kg), whereas unfermented PPW contained the highest crude protein (18.05%) and crude fibre (9.34%). Fermentation with S. cerevisiae increased total phenolic content from 4.58 mg/100 g (unfermented) to 7.28 mg/100 g, but reduced total flavonoid from 3.21 to 1.87 mg/100 g and carotenoid content from 3.72 to 1.24 mg/g. Birds fed yeast-fermented PPW achieved the highest final body weight gain (2,009.71 g) and the best feed conversion ratio (1.73), while fungi-fermented PPW produced the highest average daily feed intake (248.52 g). The study concluded that microbial fermentation, particularly with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, improved the nutritional value and feeding value of pineapple peel waste, making it a sustainable alternative feed ingredient for Noiler cocks. However, the decrease in certain antioxidant constituents (flavonoids and carotenoids) warrants further investigation.