A nutritional and economic evaluation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal as a dietary supplement in West African Dwarf goats

Moringa oleifera leaves may have the potential to enhance nutritional status, growth performance, and health of ruminant animals when used as part of their diets. However, the nutritional value of the leaves for goats is largely unknown and needs to be investigated. Consequently, eighteen West African Dwarf (WAD) bucks weighing 7.0 ± 0.33 kg were used in a completely randomized design to evaluate the effects of diluting a conventional supplement with three levels of M. oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on growth performance, haematology, and blood biochemical constituents. The MOLM was included in the commercial supplement at a rate of 0, 50, and 100 g/kg dry matter (DM). Including MOLM in the supplement did not significantly affect weight gain, dry matter intake, and metabolic weight gain of bucks. Packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC), haemoglobin concentration (hb), and total protein were not significantly influenced by MOLM inclusion, either. However, blood urea concentration was significantly increased in bucks that were offered MOLM-based diets. All blood parameters, as well as alanine transaminase (ALT) and urea, were within the normal reference ranges for clinically healthy goats. The MOLM-based supplements had significantly lower feed cost per kilogram of weight gain and higher profit per kilogram of gain. It was concluded that diluting the commercial supplement with MOLM up to 100 g/kg DM does not impair the nutritional status, growth performance and health status of the goats while reducing the feed cost per gain.Keywords: Cost, feed, growth, health, nutritio

Breed and gender effects on blood profile of Muturu and Bunaji cattle in Benue and Ogun State, Nigeria

This research was conducted to study the blood profile of Bunaji and Muturu cattle in Benue and Ogun States. Four hundred and eighty cattle comprising 240 of each breed and 120 of either gender at each location were sampled. The experiment was set in a 2×2×2 factorial format in a CRD with location, breed and gender as factors. Samples were collected five times at each location. Blood parameters analyzed were PCV, Haemoglobin (Hb), Red Blood Cell Count (RBC), Lymphocytes, Granulocytes and Monocytes. The results showed that Muturu cattle presented significantly (p<0.05) higher mean PCV, Hb, WBC, percent Lymphocyte and Monocytes. It was also observed that Muturu cattle at Benue State showed higher (p<0.05) mean PCV, RBC and percent granulocyte while the Bunaji presented higher (p<0.05) mean MCHC, with the bulls presenting significantly (p<0.05) higher mean MCHC (39.45g/dl) than the cows (36.38g/dl). Similarly, higher mean MCHC were observed in Muturu bulls (31.02g/dl) compared to the cows (28.90g/dl) of Benue State. These variations in mean MCHC were not observed among cattle in Ogun State. Mean lymphocytes and granulocytes varied significantly (p<0.05) with Bunaji gender in Ogun State. The study concluded that location and breed affected haematological parameters of the cattle breed investigated. Key words: Blood; Breed; Bunaji; Gender; Mutur

Performance and blood biochemistry profile of broiler chickens fed dietary turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder and cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens) powders as antioxidants

A 56-day experimental trial was conducted to investigate the performance and blood biochemistry profile of broiler chickens fed dietary turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder (t) and cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens) powder (c) as antioxidants. Two hundred and forty three (two-week old) broiler chicks were randomly allotted into nine treatment groups consisting of 27 selected chicks and three replicates of nine birds each. Three levels of t – (0, 200 and 400 g/ 100 kg basal diet) and three levels of c – (0, 100 and 200 g/ 100 kg basal diet) were used to formulate nine dietary treatments (basal diet (B) inclusive) and fed to each groupin two phases, starter (3–4 weeks) and finisher (5–8 weeks) phases in a randomized design. Feed intake and weight gain were highest (p < 0.05) in chicks fed B + 100c diet at the starter phase, while feed conversion ratio was best (p < 0.05) in chickens fed B + 400t + 200c diet at finisher phase. All chickens fed dietary additives had significantly (p < 0.05) decreased serum alanine aminotransferase and low density lipoproteins but increased high density lipoproteins in the starter phase. The hematological count determined indicate poor (p < 0.05) profile in groups fed B + 200c diet. Feeding broiler chicks dietary B + 400t + 200c was recommended for optimal growth performance. However, indices measured in the finisher phase allude that the best (p < 0.05) lipid profile were for chickens allotted B + 400t and B + 200t + 100c diets, while chicks fed B + 200t + 100c diet had overall a better serum count in the finisher phase. Keywords: Turmeric, Cayenne pepper, Broiler chickens, Feed conversion ratio, Serum, Haematolog

Quality characteristics of beef sausage containing varying levels of ginger (Zingiber officinale) powder

Quality of beef sausage with varying levels of ginger powder as seasoning was investigated. Batch 1 was the Control (0% Ginger powder), Batch 2 had 25% of the seasoning as Ginger powder ,&nbsp; Batch 3 had 50% of the seasoning as Ginger powder of total&nbsp; seasoning), Batch 4 had 75% of the seasoning as Ginger powder and Batch 5 had 100% of the seasoning as Ginger. Parameters measured were all subjected to one-way analysis of variance.&nbsp; Results obtained were significantly (P&lt;0.05) different. For cooking and refrigeration weight losses, batch 1 (0% ginger powder)) had the lowest percentage cooking weight loss of 9.01% while batch 2 (25% ginger powder) had the lowest percentage refrigeration&nbsp; weight loss of 0.73%. Sensory evaluation showed that meaty&nbsp; flavour in batch 1 was highest (6.50) compared to other batches. Crude protein was highest in batch 5 (100% Ginger powder) with a value of 26.66% and lowest for batch 1 (0% Ginger powder) with 18.40%. Up to 100% ginger inclusion improved refrigeration&nbsp; stability and protein content of fresh beef sausages. Keywords: Beef Sausage, Zingiber officinal