The Effect of Yellow and Red-fleshed Watermelon Rind Powder Dietary Supplementation on Plasma Metabolites in Indigenous Chickens

Watermelon rind (WR) content is rich in citrulline (Cit). Oral administration of L-Cit could improve thermotolerance in layer and broiler chickens due to its hypothermic role. Additionally, chronic supplementation of WR dried powder (WRP) increases feed intake but makes no changes to the body temperature. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of yellow and red WRP supplementation on plasma metabolites as well as and liver and spleen weight. In Experiment 1, a total of 20 indigenous chicks aged 1-14 days were treated with different doses of yellow WRP (0%, 2%, 4%, and 6%) supplemented in a commercial diet. Similarly, 20 indigenous chicks with the age range of 1-14 days were treated in Experiment 2 with different doses of red WRP (0%, 2%, 4%, and 6%) supplemented in a commercial diet. The obtained results indicated that the yellow WRP supplementation caused a linearly increased plasma total cholesterol (TCHO). However, the red WRP neither increased plasma TCHO linearly nor plasma glucose (Glu), although plasma Glu concentration significantly increased by 6% red WRP supplementation. These results suggest that supplementation of both yellow and red WRP to a commercial diet could change the concentrations of plasma metabolites, while the effect of yellow WRP may be different, compared to that of red WRP