Growth performance, internal organ weight and intestinal microbial population in broiler fed a synbiotic of purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) extract and Lactobacillus plantarum

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of adding a synbiotic consisting of purslane extract and L. plantarum on the growth performance, internal organ weight, and intestinal microbial population of broiler chickens. The treatment started when the broilers were 8 days old with an average body weight of 132.20 ± 0.95 g. The feed ingredients included yellow corn, soybean meal, meat bone meal, palm oil, DL-methionine, bentonite, limestone, premix, chlorine chlorite, and NaCl, which were formulated accordingly. The study used a completely randomized design with four treatments and four replications, namely T0 (chicks offered diet without additive), T1, T2, and T3 (chicks offered diet with 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% of the additive purslane extract and L. plantarum synbiotic). The results showed that synbiotic administration significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) growth performance, internal organ weights such as the heart, pancreas, and bursa of Fabricius, and increased the number of lactic acid bacteria while significantly reducing (P < 0.05) coliform bacteria in the ileum and cecum during the rearing period.