Effects of Phytase Supplementation on Performance, Bone Chara Cteristics, Blood Minerals and Calcium and Phosphorus Retention in Broiler Quails

Two experiments were conducted to determine the appropriate ratio of calcium (Ca) and total phosphorus (tP) (to be used for the second experiment) capable to elicit good response on the addition of dietary phytase to broiler quail's diet, and to study the effect of varying levels of this enzyme on the growth performance, Ca and P retention, plasma's Ca and P, crude protein (CP) and phytate P (pP) retention and bone characteristics in broiler quails. In the first experiment 600 quail s were subjected randomly to 5 treatments consisting ratios of Ca and tP: 1.39, 1.53, 1 .66 (normal ratio), 1 .8 1 , and 1 .96. Each treatment was replicated four times, consisting of 30 birds per replicate. The experimental period was 21 days. The second experiment used 480 quails, birds were randomly distributed into five treatment groups consisting of different levels of microbial phytase supplementation of 0, 250, 500, 750, 1000 FrU (phytase u nits). Each treatment was replicated four times, consisting of 24 birds per replicate, and experi mental period was also 21 days. Basal diet was based on corn and soybean meal

Screening of Morus alba, Citrus litnon and Trigonella foenum-graecum extracts for antimicrobial properties and phytochemical compounds

In the present study, the effect of aqueous and methanol extracts of Trigonella foenum-graecum seed (fenugreek), Citrus limon peel (lemon) and Morus alba foliage (mulberry) against two Gram- negative bacteria, Aeromonas hydrophila and Escherichia coli and two Gram-positive bacteria, Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated and the phytochemical compounds of the tested herbal extracts were determined. The results indicated that the aqueous extracts of Trigonella foenum-graecum seed and Citrus limon peel revealed weak antibacterial activity against the bacteria. The methanol extracts of all herbs exhibited stronger antimicrobial activities against the tested pathogens. Among the entire methanol extracts, the Morus alba had the strongest activities. Aeromonas hydrophila was the most sensitive microorganism tested. The phytochemical screening of the plants showed the presence of secondary metabolites such as phenols, volatile oils, tannins, saponins, steroids, flavonoid, terpenoids and alkaloids

Nutrient digestibility of mulberry leaves (Morus alba)

The current study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of mulberry (Morus alba) leaf meal (MLM) and its nutritive value as a feed ingredient. Fifteen layer and fifteen broiler chickens were used in the digestibility trial. The dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ash, fat (EE), crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and gross energy (GE) content of MLM were analyzed. The precision-feeding technique was applied to feed the birds 30 g/kg DM of MLM. The results showed that MLM contained a high content of CP (29.8%), Ca (2.73%) and NDF (35.77%). Layers and broilers chicken could utilize 73% and 72% of CP, respectively, in MLM. The nutrient digestibility of DM and NDF was higher in layers than in broilers. No significant effect was observed in ME and other nutrient digestibility between the two classes of fowls. In general, the incorporation of MLM into the chickens' diet could be a good source of protein despite its high fibre content

Antioxidative effects of mulberry foliage extract in African catfish diet

This study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidative potential and quality of the meat of African catfish fed mulberry foliage extract (MFE). A total of 360 juvenile African catfish (8.4 ± 0.2 g) were fed four diets namely, basal diet (control), MFE-2 (2 g MFE kg−1), MFE-5 (5 g MFE kg−1) and MFE-7 (7 g MFE kg−1) for 60 days. At the end of the experiment, muscles were excised, vacuum-packaged and conditioned for 0, 7 and 14 days in a chiller (4°C). The meat from fish fed MFE-5 and MFE-7 had significantly (P < 0.05) greater total phenols content than the other dietary groups. This value reduced (P < 0.05) during storage. The DPPH-scavenging effect of MFE-7 increased (P < 0.05) compared with the others. It decreased (P < 0.05) during storage. The lowest POV was revealed (P < 0.05) in MFE-7. The 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and peroxide value (POV) increased (P < 0.05) during storage. The pH value was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in MFE supplemented diets than in the control group. It is concluded that MFE at the concentration of 7 g kg−1 DM is potential dietary antioxidant supplements, to improve the quality of fish meat

Antioxidative effects of mulberry foliage extract in African catfish diet

This study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidative potential and quality of the meat of African catfish fed mulberry foliage extract (MFE). A total of 360 juvenile African catfish (8.4 ± 0.2 g) were fed four diets namely, basal diet (control), MFE-2 (2 g MFE kg−1), MFE-5 (5 g MFE kg−1) and MFE-7 (7 g MFE kg−1) for 60 days. At the end of the experiment, muscles were excised, vacuum-packaged and conditioned for 0, 7 and 14 days in a chiller (4°C). The meat from fish fed MFE-5 and MFE-7 had significantly (P < 0.05) greater total phenols content than the other dietary groups. This value reduced (P < 0.05) during storage. The DPPH-scavenging effect of MFE-7 increased (P < 0.05) compared with the others. It decreased (P < 0.05) during storage. The lowest POV was revealed (P < 0.05) in MFE-7. The 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and peroxide value (POV) increased (P < 0.05) during storage. The pH value was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in MFE supplemented diets than in the control group. It is concluded that MFE at the concentration of 7 g kg−1 DM is potential dietary antioxidant supplements, to improve the quality of fish meat

White Mulberry ( Morus alba

Two experiments were simultaneously conducted with Morus alba (white mulberry) foliage extract (MFE) as a growth promoter and treatment of Aeromonas hydrophila infection in separate 60 and 30 days trail (Experiments 1 and 2, resp.) in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). In Experiment 1, four diets, control and control supplemented with 2, 5, or 7 g MFE/kg dry matter (DM) of diet, were used. In Experiment 2, fish were intraperitoneally infected with Aeromonas hydrophila and fed the same diets as experiment 1 plus additional two diets with or without antibiotic. Results of experiment 1 showed that growth was unaffected by dietary levels of MFE. Treatments with the inclusion of MFE at the levels of 5 and 7 g/Kg DM had no mortality. Red blood cells (RBC), albumin, and total protein were all higher for the treatments fed MFE (5 and 7 g/Kg DM). Results of experiment 2 showed RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit, globulin, albumin, and total protein improved with the increase in MFE in the infected fish. The dietary MFE at the level of 7 g/kg DM reduced mortality rate. In conclusion, MFE at the level of 7 g/kg DM could be a valuable dietary supplement to cure the infected fish

Evaluation of the combination of vitamin D3 and papaya leaf on muscle antioxidant activity of spent chicken.

Eighty spent chickens were employed in this study to assay the effect of combination of vitamin D3 and papaya leaf on antioxidant activity of meat in spent layer hens. Diets were a corn-soybean meal based diet for finisher layer with and without vitamin D3 which was supplemented with different levels of 0, 0.5, 1 and 2% for papaya leaf meal. Experiment lasted for 21 days. At day 0, 7, 14 and 21, the birds were scarified and breast muscle was obtained to determine antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activity was measured using 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Result obtained from this study demonstrated that antioxidant activity of meat showed remarkable improvement between dietary treatments fed mix of vitamin D3 and papaya leaf and control group. In conclusion, vitamin D3 and papaya leaf when combined indicated an improvement in antioxidant activity of the spent meat

Dietary Euphorbia hirta extract improved the resistance of sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus to Aeromonas hydrophila

Aqueous and methanol extracts of lemon Citrus limon peel, Euphorbia hirta (aerial parts), and fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds were tested for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila. A swab paper disk method showed that the methanol extract of E. hirta (EHE) had the largest inhibition zone and the lowest minimal inhibitory concentration compared to all other herbal extracts. Based on these results, EHE was included in the diets of Sharptooth Catfish Clarias gariepinus at 0 (control), 2, 5, or 7 g/kg of diet (experiment 1). Each treatment was conducted in triplicate, with 30 fish (mean weight ± SE = 9.4 ± 0.4 g) in each replicate. After 30 d, the growth, feed intake, hepatosomatic index (HSI), and plasma biochemical parameters were measured. With a separate batch of Sharptooth Catfish, the efficacy of the EHE diets in conferring fish resistance to A. hydrophila over 30 d was compared to that of a diet containing oxytetracycline (OTC; experiment 2). Six treatments were conducted in triplicate groups of 30 fish (mean weight ± SE = 9.0 ± 0.3 g); the Control fish were fed the control diet and were not injected with A. hydrophila, while the Control-AH and OTC-AH groups were infected with A. hydrophila and were fed either the control diet or the diet containing OTC at 1 g/199 g. The other three treatments included fish that were injected with A. hydrophila but fed diets with increasing EHE at 2, 5, or 7 g/kg. Experiment 1 showed no change to growth, feeding efficiency, HSI, or plasma biochemical parameters. In experiment 2, however, fish that were fed dietary EHE at 5 g/kg had significantly lower mortality than the Control-AH group, with further resistance observed for fish fed EHE at 7 g/kg. Dietary OTC was more effective than EHE as a prophylactic to A. hydrophila infection in Sharptooth Catfish. Nevertheless, EHE can potentially be a valuable dietary supplement to improve the resistance of Sharptooth Catfish to A. hydrophila infection

Effect of varying ratios of dietary calcium and phosphorus on performance, phytate P and mineral retention in Japanese quail (Coturnix cotnurnix Japonica).

The effect of different ratios of dietary calcium (Ca) to total phosphorus (tP) on the performances and retention of minerals and phytate phosphorus (pP) by quails were studied using 600 unsexed broiler quails from 1 to 21 days of age. Treatments consist of five corn and soybean meal (CSM) based diets with variable ratios of Ca:tP (1.96, 1.81, 1.66, 1.53 and 1.39) with four replicate of 30 birds each. Diets contained 3g chromium oxide (Cr2O3)/kg as marker. All ratios of Ca and P had no significant effect on feed consumption of birds. There were pronounced differences (P < 0.05) in body weight gain of chicks among treatments at second and third week of age. Improved (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio was observed at 3 wk of age. Higher ratios of Ca:tP (1.96 and 1.81) increased (P < 0.05) the retention of P compared to other treatments while ratio of 1.96 decreased (P < 0.05) the retention of Ca and phytate. In conclusion, Ca:tP ratio of 1.81 showed positive effect on most of parameters measured in this study

Medicinal herbs as growth and health promoters in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus, burchell)

In order to investigate the antimicrobial activity of aqueous and methanolicextracts of four plants, Euphorbia hirta(asthma herb),Trigonella foenum-graecum seed (fenugreek),Citrus limonpeel (lemon) and Morus alba foliage (mulberry) on growth performance and prevention of Aeromonas hydrophila in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus),five experiments were carried out. In the first experiment, the effect of aqueous and methanolic extracts of aforementioned plants were investigated against two Gram- negative bacteria, Aeromonas hydrophila and Escherichia coli and two Grampositive bacteria, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Staphylococcus aureusand thephytochemical compounds of the tested herbal extracts were determined.The 2nd study was designed to evaluate the effects of dietary incorporating of these extracts (at different levels) in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). In this regard, assessing the effect of EHE and MFE supplemented diets on the growth, hematology and histology (kidney and liver) was conducted. The effect of inclusion of EHE in the diet on growth and disease prevention in the catfish was evaluated in the 3rd study. In the 4th study, The effect of inclusion of EHE in the diet on growth and disease prevention in the catfish was investigated. In the 5th study, the effects of dietary mixed-herbal (E. hirta and Morus alba) methanolicextracts(E-ME) on growth, nutrient digestibility, hematological and intestinal indices, antioxidant activity and disease prevention in the catfish were investigated. In the first experiment, the aqueous and methanolic extracts were obtained using distilled water and methanol. To examine antimicrobial characteristics of each extracts against tested bacteria the paper disc diffusion method was used.The experiments were conducted at an Aquatic Animal Health Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Fingerling African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) used in this study, were obtained from a local farm. The fish were weighed and kept in 100-l aquaria with 30 fish per aquarium. The initial weight per fish was around 9.5. Each treatment had three replicates and fish were fed over a period of 60 days (feeding experiment) and 30 days (challenge test).Growth performance, hematological parameters, meat antioxidant activity and cumulative mortality were determined in these studies. The results of first study indicated that based on the inhibition zone, the aqueous extracts of Trigonella foenum-graecumseed (TS) and Citrus limon peel (CP) revealed weak antibacterial activity against the bacteria. However, E. hirta (EH) and M. alba foliage (MF) aqueous extract at a concentration of 100 mg/ml showed moderate and weak activities respectively. The methanolic extracts of all herbs exhibited stronger antimicrobial activities against the tested pathogensas compared to the water extracts. Among the entire methanolic extracts, the EH and MF had the strongest activities, whilethe others exhibited moderate or weak activities. Moreover, the results indicated that A. hydrophila was the most sensitive microorganism tested, with the highest inhibition zone in the presence of the methanolic extracts obtained from EH and MF. The phytochemical screening of the methanol extract of E.hirta (EHE) and methanol extract of M. alba foliage (MFE) showed the presence of secondary metabolites such as phenols, volatile oils, tannins, saponins, steroids, flavonoid, terpenoids and alkaloids. Results of2nd revealed no negative effects of EHE and MFE (at 7 g/Kg DM of diet) in the experimental diets on the fish, while by increasing the level of EHE and MFE to 9 g/Kg,it showed some negative changes in the growth, hematological characteristics and istological assessment. Results of 3rd study showed that growth performance was positively affected by dietary supplements. Mortality rate decreased in fish fed EHE-5 and EHE-7 (5 and 7g/Kg of DM) supplemented diets. Red blood cells, albumin and total protein increased in fish fed with EHE-7 diet compared to other groups. The meat from fish fed with the EHE supplemented diet (EHE-7) was higher for total phenols content and the free radicalscavenging effect (DPPH) than the other dietary groups. Dietary EHE did not change the lipid oxidation (TBARS) of meat. It was shown that storage time had significant effect on meat antioxidative potential. The results of hematological profile after artificial infection with A. hydrophila revealed that RBC, Hb, Ht, total protein, albumin and globulin were better for group offered with EHE-7 diet compared to untreated control, EHE-2 and EHE-5. All the measurements in the A.hydrophila infected fish which fed in the EHE at 7 g/kg DM (EHE-7) showed similar values compared with the control and the treatment groups which received antibiotic. The fish fed EHE-5 showed lower cumulative mortality than fish fed with EHE-2 and untreated control, while the group fed with EHE-7 had the lowest cumulative mortality among others.The results of the 4th study showed that inclusion of M.alba foliage extract (MFE) did not improve the growth performance. The values of RBC, Hb and serum albumin and total protein were all higher for the treatment MFE-5 and MFE-7 than other treatments.The meat from fish fed MFE-5 and MFE-7 had significantly greater total phenols content than other dietary groups. The free radicalscavenging (DPPH) activity of meatfrom fish fed MFE was significantly improved.The DPPH-scavenging effect of the MFE -7diet was higher than that of thecontrol, MFE-2 and MFE-5 diets. Dietary MFE (at any level) did not affect the lipid oxidation (TBARS) of meat. It was shown that storage time had significant effect on meat antioxidative potential. In the challenge test, all the measurements (RBC, Hb, Ht, total protein, albumin and globulin) in the A. hydrophila infected fish fed with the MFE-5 and MFE-7 diets showed similar values compared with the control treatments (healthy control and antibiotic treated control).Cumulative mortality decreased by inclusion of the extract in the diet and the fish fed MFE-7 had the lowest cumulative mortality over the period of infection. Results of the 5th study showed that growth performance improved in fish fed EHE supplemented diet compared to other groups. The values of RBC counts, Hb and serum albumin and total protein were all higher for the treatments with EHE, MFE and EME than for the control treatment.The meat from fish fed with different extracts (EHE,MFE and E-ME diets) had significantly greater total phenols content as well as free radical-scavenging (DPPH) effect than the meat of fish fed with the control diet. The lipid oxidation (TBARS) values of fish fed EHE, MFE and E-ME diets did not increase during storage, while that of control group increased. In the present experiment,determination of apparent digestibility showed that the digestibility for dry matter and crude protein were higher for the fish fed EHE diet than the MFE and control diets. Post infection hematological profile revealed that fish fed with EHE, MFE and E-ME diets had RBC, Hb, Ht, total protein, albumin and globulin values comparable with healthy and antibiotic treated controls. Furthermore, the cumulative mortality in the fish that received EHE, MFE and E-ME diets were much lower than untreated groups. Histologicalassessment of intestine in this experiment showed no abnormalities. In conclusion, these studies suggested that the methanolic extract of E. hirta and M. alba foliage were found to be effective in growth improvement and bacterial disease prevention in African catfish. On the other hand, the benefits obtained from the inclusion of mixed-herbal extracts were not synergistic