Evaluation of Guazuma ulmifolia Leaf Extract in Drinking Water: Impacts on Carcass Yield and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens

Faculty of Animal Sciences, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: eko.widodo@ub.ac.id

Abstract

Herbal supplements are increasingly explored as natural alternatives to synthetic growth promoters in poultry production, with potential benefits for carcass yield and meat quality. Guazuma ulmifolia leaf extract (GLE) has been proposed as a potential functional feed additive. Its effects on broiler carcass yield and meat quality remain insufficiently investigated. This study evaluated the impact of GLE supplementation in drinking water on carcass yield and meat quality of broiler chickens. A total of 300 day-old Lohmann MB broilers from Japfa Comfeed Indonesia were randomly assigned to five treatments: control (0% GLE), 0.25% GLE, 0.50% GLE, 0.75% GLE, and 1.00% GLE, with five replicates of 12 birds each. Chickens were reared for 35 days under standardized management conditions. Carcass traits (yield, breast, leg, back, and wing proportions) and meat quality parameters (dry matter, pH, tenderness, color values L*, a*, b*, and water-holding capacity) were measured. Carcass yield and leg proportion were not affected by treatments (p > 0.05), whereas the back proportion was significantly reduced at 0.75% inclusion compared with the control and 1.00% groups (p = 0.02). Most meat quality parameters were unchanged, although meat yellowness (b*) differed significantly among treatments (p = 0.02), with the lowest values recorded at 0.25% inclusion. These findings suggest that GLE supplementation up to 0.75% supports favorable carcass distribution and maintains overall meat quality, whereas higher inclusion levels may induce less desirable carcass partitioning without additional benefits.