Growth Performance of Broiler Chicken Supplemented with Water-Extracted Red Dragon Fruit [Hylocereus polyrhizus (F.A.C. Weber) Britton & Rose]

One of the advantages of broiler chickens is their short harvest period. Factors that influence their growth include the nutrient content of the feed. However, it will be difficult to get optimal growth only with conventional feed. Therefore, growth supplements are needed. Red dragon fruit water-extract contains flavonoids and vitamins that act as antioxidants. This research aimed to study the effect of red dragon fruit water-extract treatment in drinking water on the growth of broiler chickens. This research used 300 DOC male broiler chickens which were reared until they were 21 days old. This research was conducted using a completely randomized design, with 5 groups and 5 replications, each replication group consisting of 12 DOC. The five groups consisted of the control group (P0), P1 0.25%, P2 0.50%, P3 1%, and P5 2%. Parameters observed included the histological structure of the small intestine, pectoralis muscle, and spleen, as well as growth performance. The results showed that red dragon fruit water extract could increase villi length and area, ratio of villi length to crypt depth, number and area of goblet cells, fasciculus area, muscle fiber area and white pulp area, splenic organ index, as well as improving growth performance including chicken body weight and feed efficiency. Therefore, it can be concluded that red dragon fruit water extract can improve the histological structure of the small intestine, pectoralis muscle, and spleen, as well as increase the growth performance of broiler chickens, especially in red dragon fruit extract with a concentration of 2%