Performance of Rabbit Fed Hausa Potato Tuber (Solenostemon rotundifolium) Meal (HPTM) at Graded Levels as Substitute to Maize

Twenty-four (24) crossbred (New Zealand Red X Chinchilla) rabbit aged 4 – 6 weeks made up of mixed sexes with average initial body weight of (1.82kg and 1.83kg) were used to evaluate the effect of different levels of Hausa potato tuber meal (HPTM) inclusion on their feed intake and growth performance. The rabbits were randomly allotted to four groups of six rabbits per group. Each group was replicated three times in a completely randomized design with each replicate having two (2) rabbits. The groups were fed diets containing 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% HPTM respectively and designated treatment I, II, III and IV respectively. The chemical composition of the test ingredient was determined prior to its inclusion in  the diets. Data were collected on final body weight, average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio. All data were subjected to one way analysis of variance. There were no significant (P>0.05) difference in the above listed parameters. Rabbits fed diets III and IV is significantly (P<0.05) higher than rabbits fed diets II in average daily feed intake, while rabbits fed diets I were statistically similar to those fed diets III and IV. The results suggest that 30% replacement of maize with Hausa potato tuber meal (HPTM) did not have any deleterious effects on the growth performance of rabbits and that the general trend showed that there was increase in growth of the experimental animal with increase in the level of Hausa potato tubers meal (HPTM).Keywords: Solenostemon rotundifolium meal, growth performance, crossbred rabbit

Quantitative replacement of soybean meal with toasted African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) meal in broiler starter diets

Eighty-four Anak broilers were used to study the effect of quantitative replacement of toasted soybean meal (TSBM) with toasted African yam bean (TAYB) meal in broiler starter diet. The experimental design was completely randomized design (CRD). There were four treatments each replicated three times with seven broilers per replicate. The inclusion levels of toasted African yam bean meal in diets were 0, 25, 50 and 75% in treatments I, II, III, and IV respectively. The parameters measured were final live weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and cost/kg feed. Results showed that the starter broilers fed treatment IV diet had significantly (P<0.05) lower final live weight (592g) than those fed treatments III (631.66g), II (656g) and I (670g) diets. Daily weight gain followed the same trend as in final live weight. The feed intake of treatments IV (1241.66g) and III (1235.00g) diets were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those of treatments I (1222.66g) and II (1225.33g) diets. Starter broilers fed treatment IV diet had significantly (P<0.05) higher feed conversion ratio (2.10) than those fed treatment III having (1.95) which was also significantly (P<0.05) higher than those of treatments II (1.87) and I (1.28). Finally, parameters evaluated showed no significant different (P>0.05) between starter broilers fed treatment I and treatment II. From the result, one can conclude that 25% AYB (treatment II) compared favourably with the control diets 0% AYB in starter broiler diets and is hereby recommended as optimal for quantitative replacement of soybean in broiler starter diet.Key words: Broiler Starter diet, African Yam Bean, Soyabean replacemen

Identification of the Biotransformation Products of 2-Ethylhexyl 4-(N,N-Dimethylamino)benzoate

Nowadays, 2-ethylhexyl 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)benzoate (EDP) is one of the most widely used UV filters in sunscreen cosmetics and other cosmetic products. However, undesirable processes such as percutaneous absorption and biological activity have been attributed to this compound. The in vitro metabolism of EDP was elucidated in the present work. First of all, the phase I biotransformation was studied in rat liver microsomes and two metabolites, N,N-dimethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid (DMP) and N-monomethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid (MMP), were identified by GC-MS analysis. Secondly, the phase II metabolism was investigated by means of LC-MS. The investigated reactions were acetylation and glucuronidation working with rat liver cytosol and with both human and rat liver microsomes, respectively. Analogue studies with p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) were carried out in order to compare the well established metabolic pathway of PABA with the unknown biotransformation of EDP. In addition, a method for the determination of EDP and its two phase I metabolites in human urine was developed. The methodology requires a solid-phase extraction prior to LC-MS analysis. The method is based on standard addition quantification and has been fully validated. The repeatability of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation, was in the range 3.4–7.4% and the limit of detection for all quantified analytes was in the low ng mL−1 range