A Use of Turmeric (Curcuma longa) in Poultry Nutrition: A Review : Turmeric in poultry nutrition

Abstract

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a plant used in herbal medicine that has been used to treat many health problems in poultry, as antibacterial, and antifungal, promoting growth and improving the intestinal environment and immunity. The aim of this article was to review the research focused on using turmeric (Curcuma Longa) in rations of broilers and layers on performance, carcass characteristics, blood parameters, egg production, and egg quality characteristics. Most research indicated that turmeric addition to broiler rations improved productive traits (i.e. body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion), increased livability and had insignificant effects on carcass traits (i.e. dressing percentage, carcass cuts percentages), abdominal fat, edible giblets, cooking loss and water holding percentage). There were different results of turmeric addition on blood parameters; some indicated that it had positive effects, and indicated negative effects, while others found insignificant effects on blood characteristics. Most researchers found a decrease in feed consumption when turmeric was added to layer rations, while different results were observed on laying performance and egg quality traits.