Comparative effects of theobromine and Cocoa Bean Shell (CBS) extract on the performance, serum constituent profile and physiological parameters in rabbits

The effects of theobromine and an extract of cocoa bean shell (CBS) on performance, serum constituent and physiological parameters were compared in rabbits. Synthetic theobromine (300mg/kg) and theobromine from CBS extract (3000mg/kg) were administered through oral gavage for 10 days. Synthetic theobromine and theobromine from CBS caused significant (p 0.05) effect on Na+, K+ and total protein. Synthetic theobromine induced significant (p < 0.05) increase in the values of ALP(Alkaline phosphatase), AST(Aspatate amino transferase), urea, creatinine and glucose while CBS extract containing an equivalent amount of theobromine also caused significant (p < 0.05) increase in these parameter compared with the control but lower than the effect from the synthetic theobromine. However, 50% mortality was recorded among rabbits administered with synthetic theobromine. The results suggest that poor performance and physiological disorder ascribeable to cocoa based diet is caused by theobromine. Keywords: Synthetic theobromine, CBS extract, rabbitsGlobal Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences Vol. 14 (3) 2008: pp. 253-25

Amino acid analysis and biological evaluation of detoxified Thevetia seed meal

Thevetia peruviana seed meal was detoxified using two methods &ndash; acid hydrolysis followed by ethanolic extraction of the released aglycones and direct ethanolic extraction of the cardiac glycosides. Acid detoxification followed by alcoholic extraction of the aglycones gave a meal with 95% reduction in the glycoside content (from 42.7 to 2.15 g kg-1), while direct alcohol detoxification led to a 98% reduction in the glycoside content of the seed meal (from 42.7 to 0.83 g kg-1). The two treated Thevetia seed meals (TSM) were used to formulate poultry diets by introducing 0, 5, 10 and 15% of treated TSM into the feed composition which is equivalent to 0, 16.7, 33.3 and 50% replacement of soybean meal. The results showed that up to 15 % inclusion of alcohol detoxified TSM (&asymp; 50% replacement of soybean meal) produced no mortality and gave satisfactory growth performance of the cockerels used for the experiment. The performance of birds on alcohol detoxified diets was comparable with that of birds on the control diet. However, diets formulated with acid detoxified TSM gave fairly satisfactory performance only with 5% inclusion of the detoxified meal in the diet (i.e., 16.7 % replacement of soybean in the meal). Higher inclusion levels (5 and 10% inclusions) resulted in reduced feed intake and retention, reduced activity and high mortality (25 &ndash; 33% mortality). The birds were uncoordinated, walked limply and generally exhibited poor growth performance. Amino acid analysis of the detoxified TSM also showed that the alcohol-detoxified meal had a better amino acid profile and higher essential amino acid contents than either the raw meal or the acid-detoxified meal. The acid-detoxified meal had the lowest content of all amino acids analyzed except the acid amino acids which were increased. Generally, alcohol detoxification appeared to be the best and most effective of the two detoxification methods examined

Effect of cooking methods on available and unavailable carbohydrates of some tropical grain legumes

The available and unavailable carbohydrate contents of eleven tropical legumes from different seed lines were investigated in raw, cooked and autoclaved forms. Raw legumes contained small amounts ofglucose and fructose which ranged from 0.05 to 0.22 g/100 g and 0.24 to 0.90 g/100 g, respectively, sucrose varied between 1.49 g/100 g and 3.76 g/100 g. Reducing sugars were higher in bambara groundnut than other legumes. Starch was the principal carbohydrate, ranging from 35.4 to 50.0 g/100 g. African yam beans, lima beans and kidney beans had fairly high levels of oligosaccharides (raffinose + stachyose) than bambara groundnuts. Non-cellulosic polysaccharides and cellulose contents were highest in jack bean followed by pigeon pea TUc5537-1 and least in bambara groundnut KAB-3. Lignin was low and fairly uniform in all the legumes. The available carbohydrates were reduced to various extents by cooking, whereas the unavailable carbohydrates were not affected appreciably by heat treatment

Egg production and haematological profile of laying hens fed dietary raw or processed Prosopis africana seeds.

No Abstract. JARD Vol. 3 2004: pp. 99-10

Performance, blood chemistry and carcass quality attributes of rabbits fed raw and processed pueraria seed meal

No Abstract

Effects of Trichoderma fermented wheat bran on growth performance, intestinal morphology and histological findings in broiler chickens

This experiment investigated the effects of wheat bran fermented with Trichoderma pseudokoningii (FWB) on growth performance, intestinal morphology and the incidence of non-specific pathological lesions in broilers. In vitro experimental results showed that cellulase and xylananse activity of fermented wheat bran reached its peak at day 4 and solid-state fermentation (SSF) enhanced the reducing sugar content. In addition, the possibility of Trichoderma adhering to the broiler’s crop epitheliums was also discovered. A total of 180 day-old Ross 308 male broilers were randomly distributed into one of the three dietary groups until 35 d of age: basal diet (control), 10% of basal diet replaced with wheat bran (10% WB) or 10% of diet replaced with fermented wheat bran (10% FWB). Results showed that 10% FWB group had lower feed consumption than the others, but improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) for starter phase (1 to 21 d) when compared to the control group. Furthermore, 10% FWB group had significantly increased villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio in the ileum compared to the control group. Coliform bacteria count in the ileum was lower in the 10% WB group than the control, however, there were no differences between the 10% WB and 10% FWB treatment groups in the C. perfringens count. There were no morphological changes or incidences of non-specific pathological lesions in the 10% FWB group. These results suggested that replacing 10% of a basal diet with fermented wheat bran could not only improve growth performance but also provide optimal intestinal morphology in broilers