Antioxidant capacity of banana peel and its modulation of Nrf2-ARE associated gene expression in broiler chickens

Abstract

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits worldwide, producing over 100 million tons in 2013.Banana peel, a byproduct that represents 40% of the entire banana’s weight, is rich in bioactivecompounds and has a high antioxidant capacity. Therefore, the aim of this study is to usebanana peel powder (BPP) as an antioxidant broiler feed additive. The bioactive compound andantioxidant capacity of BPP were determined. The results showed that BPP contained 872.7GAE/100 g DM of total phenolic content, and gallocatechin was detected at a concentration of91 mg/100 g DM, and BPP’s ferrous chelating ability, ferric ion reducing ability power, Troloxequivalent antioxidant capacity, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl scavenging capacity indicatedits high antioxidant capacity. A total of 216 one-day-old Ross 308 female broiler chicks were ran-domly assigned to one of four groups that received the basal diet supplemented with 0% (con-trol), 0.5%, 1%, or 2% dry BPP for 35d. The results showed that the 0.5% BPP-supplementedgroup had increased serum SOD activity and lowered serum malondialdehyde levels, while theliver mRNA expression of Nrf2, SOD, CAT, GPx, and HO-1 were upregulated in the 0.5% and 1%BPP-supplemented groups. In conclusion, the current study shows that BPP has a potent antioxi-dant capacity and dietary supplementation with 0.5% BPP enhances antioxidative status, sug-gesting that BPP has potential as an antioxidant feed additive.