Influence of Citrus sinensis seed powder on growth performance, morphological and histological development of the small intestine of broiler chickens

Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) seeds are sources of significant quantities of bioactive compounds and dietary fiber which have shown a range of biological activities in humans but are essentially discarded with abundant waste production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of C. sinensis seed powder on the morphological and histological development of the small intestine of broiler chickens. A total of 480-day-old Cobb 500 broilers chicks were divided into 4 groups with 6 replicates and 20 chicks per pen, namely control (T): fed only standard diet; CSS-0.25: standard diet + 0.25% C. sinensis seed powder; CSS-0.50: standard diet + 0.5% C. sinensis seed powder and CSS-0.75: standard diet + 0.75% C. sinensis seed powder over 42 d in a completely randomized design. The results indicated that a diet containing 0.75% of C. sinensis seed powder significantly (P < 0.05) increased the weight and length of the small intestine and its 3 segments. Furthermore, villi height, villi/crypt ratio, and crypt depth in the jejunal and ileal sections of the intestine increased significantly (P < 0.05) with 0.5% and 0.75% C. sinensis seed powder supplementation. In addition, weight gain and feed conversion ratio were significantly affected in the 0.5 and 0.75% groups on d 21 and 42. In conclusion, supplementation with 0.5 and 0.75% C. sinensis seed powder improves intestinal development and intestinal health in chickens.