Validation of the polysemen admixture on viability and acrosomal morphology of boar spermatozoa

Semen were collected using artificial vagina (AV), from 5 large white boars aged 2-2.5 years twice a week for 16 weeks in each of the two seasons, early rainy (ER) and late rainy (LR) seasons, to determine the effects of multiple semen pool admixture on the viability and acrosomal morphology. The semen qualities studied were sperm motility, live sperm and sperm concentration, while the acrosomal parameters includes normal apical ridge (NAR), damaged apical ridge (DAR), missing apical ridge (MAR) and loose apical ridge (LAC). There were no significant (P>0.05) seasonal effects. Three-boar semen admixture gave the highest percentage NAR, motility, live sperm concentration and least DAR and LAC, although these were not significantly (P>0.05) different from the 2-boar semen admixture. The result of this study suggests that 3-boar semen admixture is most suitable for use in artificial insemination program

Quantitative Analysis Of Abattoir Slaughtering Of Animals In Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abattoir survey was conducted to determine the trends, volume and value of food animals slaughtered in twenty local government areas of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria from 1999 to 2002. A total of 151,303 animals comprising of 38,946 (25.7%) cattle; 39,392 (26%) goats; 11,758 (7.8%) sheep; 24,449 (16.2%) pigs, and 36,758 (24.3%) dogs were slaughtered in the state during the period under review. Male/female ratios of 3.1:1, 3:1, 2.7:1, 2.7:1, and 3:1 were obtained for cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and dogs, respectively. Findings revealed that 32.8% of the animals were slaughtered in 1999 while 37.9% were slaughtered in 2000. However a lower percentage (12.8%) was slaughtered in 2001. Three peak periods of demand for cattle were in 1999, 2000 and 2002; two for goats: 1999 and 2000: one for sheep: 2000; two for pigs: 1999 and 2000, and two for dogs: 1999 and 2000. Meat inspection activities in the state translated to a revenue of 3.07 million Naira within the period of study, although this can be improved. It was concluded that cattle, goats and pigs are the most popular food animals in the state with dog meat providing a good alternative source of animal protein requirements for the populace. Key words: Abattoir, Akwa Ibom, Returns, Local government Journal Of Agriculture And Social Research Vol. 5 (1) 2005: 118-12

Antibacterial activities and toxicological potentials of crude ethanolic extracts of Euphorbia hirta

Leaves of Euphorbia hirta used in traditional medicine for the treatments of boils, wounds and control of diarrhoea and dysentery were extracted by maceration in ethanol. The agar diffusion method wasused to determine the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Bacillus subtilis at different concentrations while toxicological studies was carried out through intraperitoneal injection of albino rat with varying concentrations of the extract. Antibacterial sensitivity test indicated that the extract inhibited the growth of S. aureus, E. coli, B. subtilis and P. aeruginosa to varying degrees while S. typhi was notaffected. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), of the extract against E. coli, S aureus, P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis were 58.09, 22.55, 57.64 and 74.61 mg/ml respectively. Hematological analyses revealedthat there was no significant difference (p = 0.05) between the total red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) values of therats used as control and those treated with the different concentrations of the extract. Also, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values were significantly different at certain concentrations of the extract administered which indicates that the plant extract is heamatologically not toxic to rats. The plant extract was found to contain tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids which may be responsible for its antimicrobial properties. The results justify the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of sores, boils, wounds and control of dysentery and diarrhoea

Analysis of Abattoir records for Imo state, Nigeria from 1995 - 1999 IV: Incidence of Mastitis Amongs cattle, sheep and goats

A five-year data (1995–1999) on mastitis among slaughtered cattle, sheep and goats collected from the Federal Livestock Department (FLD), Imo State zonal office, was analysed to determine the prevalence of the condition among such animals in Imo State. Of the 8615 female animals handled at veterinary approved slaughter points during the period, 6230 (72.8%), 497(5.8%) and 1848(21.4%) were cows, ewes and does respectively. Mastitis was recorded among 405 (6.6%) of the cows, 77(15.5%) of the ewes and 352(19.1%) of the does. Across four seasons, mastitis was significantly higher (16.5% and 34.4%) among cattle and goats respectively during late dry (LD) season (

Entrepreneurial Characteristics And Constraints Of Poultry Enterprises In Imo State, Nigeria

The, entrepreneurial characteristics marketing strategies, poultry drugs distribution methods and constraints were studied among 110 poultry enterprises in Imo State, Nigeria. Ten types of poultry businesses were identified with commercial feeds retailing, egg and broiler productions being the most frequently practiced (18.1, 15.3 and 15.2% respectively). Guinea and Top feed brands were the most popular commercial poultry feeds, with each rating 28.1 and 23.4% respectively. Thirty-five(55.6%) of poultry farmers use commercial poultry feeds in feeding their flocks. Small-scale commercial poultry farms (40.4%) were more as against middle and large scale units that averaged 30.8 and 28.9% respectively. 82.9% of the poultry farmers sell their products unprocessed either by retails and wholesales (41.9%), or by retail only (20.9%). Twenty-three (79.3%) of poultry drugs sellers in the state are not qualified to sell such drugs, while a higher percentage of the farmers consult veterinary doctors before administering drugs. Antibiotics (23.9%), coccidiostats (23.1%), vitamins (17.4%) and vaccines (14.1%) were the most frequently sold poultry medicinal products. Practitioners identified high cost of livestock inputs (31.3%) lack of adequate finance (26.6%) and disease (17.2%) as major constraints to their business. Researching for cheaper sources of raw materials (30.8%), visiting farms for advice (23.1%) and producing animals with higher feed efficiency by animal production scientists and financial support in forms of soft loans, credits and subsidies from government (58.33%), were listed as the highest expectations of the practitioners. Key words: Nigeria, poultry business, veterinary drugs, poultry feeds, Poultry farmers Journal Of Agriculture And Social Research Vol. 5 (1) 2005: 25-3

Anti-inflammatory activity of fatty extract of Vitalleria paradoxa Kernel (Shea butter) and pattern of its clinical use in arthritis in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Background: The fatty seed extract of Vitellaria paradoxa Kernel (Sapotaceae) commonly called “Shea butter”, is a popular remedy for arthritis in west Africa. This study investigated the knowledge, prevalence and pattern of use of Shea butter in clinically diagnosed arthritic patients as well as its effects on acute (topical and systemic) and chronic inflammation in rodents.Methods: Knowledge, prevalence and pattern of use were determined using pre-tested questionnaire in clinically diagnosed patients whereas the anti-inflammatory activity was studied using xylene-induced mouse ear edema, carrageenan-induced rat paw edema, formaldehyde-induced arthritis in rats and cotton pellet granuloma test in rats.Results: The results showed that of the 164 respondents, 94.1% know about Shea butter and 59.6% have used it mainly as a massage ointment once or twice daily. However, 73.7% of the users combine this remedy with analgesics to achieve relief. The pharmacological tests showed that topical application of Shea butter inhibited acute edema of the mouse ear. Systemic oral administration caused significant (p<0.05) suppression of the development of systemic acute edema of the rat paw in a non-dose related manner. Twice daily topical application of Shea butter significantly (p<0.05) inhibited the edematous response to formaldehyde arthritis whereas once daily administration was not effective. Shea butter also caused a significant (p<0.05) non-dose related inhibition of granuloma tissue formation on implanted cotton pellets.Conclusions: These findings provide a scientific rationale for the use of Shea butter in treatment of disorders of inflammation in traditional medicine

Overview of avian influenza status: Bauchi, Nigeria and global scenarios

No Abstract.Animal Production Research Advances Vol. 3 (4) 2007: pp. 341-34

The effect of method of handling and season on weight loss, water holding capacity and colour quality of beef sold in Imo State, Nigeria.

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of handling method and season on water holding capacity, weight loss, cooking loss and colour of retail beef. Four handling methods which corresponded to the commercial methods of handling retail meat were selected. They were beef sample kept uncovered on the butchers table (Treatment A); beef sample kept uncovered and under room temperature but not on the butcher’s table in order to prevent customers from handling it (Treatment B); beef sample exposed to sunlight (Treatment C); and beef sample kept on top of ice in a covered cooler (Treatment D). Samples were kept from 09.00 hrs till 18.00 hrs on sampling days. The experiment was replicated 3 times in each of the two seasons (rainy and dry seasons), with an interval of 7 days between sampling. Percentage water holding capacity (% WHC) was neither affected by season nor handling method (P&gt;0.05). However, the mean % WHC for the rainy season beef samples was slightly higher than that for the dry season counterparts. Percentage weight loss (% WL) showed significant differences (P&lt;0.05) between the four handling methods within and between the seasons. Similarly, the handling methods and season had significant effects (P&lt;0.05) in percentage cooking loss (% CL) and subjective colour score (SCC). Significant and positive linear relationship was observed between atmospheric humidity and WHC (R=0.807; P&lt;0.05). There was also significant and positive linear correlation between atmospheric temperature and WL (R=0.857; P&lt;0.05).Keywords: Beef, Handling method, Season, Humidity, Temperature and Meat qualit

Epidermal characteristics of some Nigerian species of Corchorus. (Tiliaceae)

The three species of Corchorus used in this study were collected from Ife and Port Harcourt. The comparative study of the species were done using light microscope. The observations recorded on the epidermal architecture, stomata types, stomata distribution and frequency and the trichomes have been discussed in line with their diagnostic significance. The epidermal characteristics of these Nigerian species have been described for the first time.Journal of Applied Chemistry and Agricultural Research Vol. 7 2000-2001: pp. 48-5