Serum biochemistry of broiler chickens fed different levels of pawpaw leaf meal (PLM) in the diet

Ninety six 21 day- old unsexed broiler chickens were used for the study designed to evaluate the effect of different levels of pawpaw leaf meal on the serum biochemistry of broiler chickens. The experiment consisted of four treatment groups, each in three replicates of eight birds per replicate. The treatments reflect the different levels of inclusion of the pawpaw leaf meal: T₁ (control 0 g/kg of PLM in feed), T₂ (3 g/kg of PLM in feed), T₃ (5 g/kg of PLM in feed) and T₄ (7 g/kg of PLM in feed). The experiment was framed in a completely randomized design and lasted from the beginning of the fourth week till the end of the eight week (five weeks). Results showed that alanine amino transferase and globulin were significantly affected by treatments (p<0.05), though values were still within the normal range reported in the literature for best physiological functions of broiler chickens. Pawpaw leaf meal inclusion in the diet did not affect the other biochemical indices studied. It was concluded that the immune vigilance of the chickens appeared not compromised by the inclusion of pawpaw leaf meal in the diet up to 7 g/kg inclusion level.