Concentration of some heavy metals in the hair, kidney and liver of cattle and goats in the oil and non–oil producing areas of Ondo State

Pollutions due to anthropogenic sources have made some animals possible carriers of certain toxic substances which could have detrimental effects on humans. In this study, the concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and chromium (Cr) in the hair, kidney and liver of cattle and goats in the oil producing areas (OPA) and none oil producing areas (NOPA) of Ondo state, Nigeria, were evaluated. Hair, kidney and liver samples werecollected from four purposely selected Local Government Areas in Ondo state in replicates, dried and digested using a 1:3 mixture of concentrated perchloric acid (HClO ) and 4 trioxonitrate (v) acid (HNO ). Data collected were analyzed completely randomized design 3 (CRD) and significant means were separated using Duncan multiple range test. Lead concentration (mg/kg) were not significantly different in the organs of cattle (mean = 0.076) and goats (mean = 0.043) in the OPA but varied significantly in the NOPA with highest values in the hair of cattle (0.081) and kidney of goat (0.056). Oil exploration effect was only significant in Pb deposition in the kidney. Cadmium values (mg/kg) ranged from 0.009 to0.031 in cattle and from 0.010 to 0.020 in goats with no significant variation. However, oil exploration showed significant effect in the Cd deposition in the kidney of cattle. Mean values of mercury concentration (mg/kg) in cattle were between 0.022 to 0.054 and 0.029 to 0.039 ingoats from the OPA. In the NOPA, Hg concentration did not vary significantly in the organs of cattle but showed significant variation in the organs of goats with values ranging from 0.016 – 0.046 mg/kg. Chromium concentration (mg/kg) varied between 0.004 to 0.020 in cattle and 0.005 to 0.025 in goats with no significant variation. Conclusively, all the heavy metal concentrations obtained from analysis of the hair, kidney and liver from both the oil producing and the non – oil producing areas were belowpermissible limits reported by some regulatory bodies.Keywords: Heavy metals, cadmium, lead, chromium, mercury, permissible limit

Carcass characteristics of indigenous breeds of cattle in Nigeria

Bunaji and Sokoto Gudali breeds of cattle were fattened and slaughtered at live weights of 250, 300 or 350 kg. After the carcasses were jointed into commercial cuts, the joints of the left side were dissected into lean, bone and fat. Dressing percentage was significantly higher in Bunaji carcasses (52.5 %) than in Sokoto Gudali carcasses (50.3%). The lean percentage was nearly constant at 68-69 % at all slaughter weights whereas fat percentage increased from 10.3 at 250 kg to 14.5 at 350 kg. Bone percentage was inversely related to fat percentage. The relative growth coefficients of muscle and fat were 1.28 and 1.80, whereas that of bone was 0.59. Sigrlificant changes in proportion of carcass parts and tissues were observed with increased slaughter weight. The propor-tion of hind decreased and that of back and belly increased, while chuck and shank remained relatively unchanged. Lean percentage was relatively unchanged by slaughter weight in all carcass parts except the chuck where it increased. The greatest increase in fat percentage was in the belly (7.6%) followed in decreasing order by the back (5.4%), shank (4.9%), hind (3.0%) and chuck (1.8%). The breeds did not differ in any of the traits except dressing percentage

Effect of some medicinal herbs and spices from Enugu and Kaduna States, Nigeria, on in-vitro rumen fermentation and methanogenesis

A study was carried out to determine the effect of medicinal plants from Enugu (En) and Kaduna (Kd) States on in-vitro rumen fermentation and methanogenesis. Twelve medicinal plants comprising herbs and spices were collected from En and Kd States, respectively. The chemical composition and cell wall component (NDF, ADF and hemicellulose) of the plants were determined. The samples were evaluated in an in-vitro study  at an inclusion level of 10 mg/ 200 mg substrate. The experiment was laid out in a factorial arrangement and executed as a randomized complete block design with incubation done in batches. At the completion of the 24-hour incubation period, total gas volume (GV), dry matter digestibility  (DMD), fermentation efficiency (FE) and CH were determined while organic matter digestibility 4 (OMD), short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and metabolisable energy (ME) were estimated from established equations. The chemical composition indicated range values of 72.82 (Allium sativum, En) - 95.73% (Aloe barbadense, Kd) for DM, 7.01 (Aframomum melegueta, En) – 30.59% (Allium sativum, En) for CP, 8.94 (Allium sativum, Kd) –  81.41% (Cymbopogon citratus, En) for NDF, 3.58 (Allium sativum, En) – 63.64% (Xylopia aethiopica, En) for ADF, 1.79 (Allium cepa, Kd) - 48.77 % (Aframomum melegueta, En) for hemicellulose, 2.64 (Aframomum melegueta, En) – 22.51% (Ageratum conyzoides, Kd) and 77.49 (Ageratum conyzoides, Kd) – 97.36% (Aframomum melegueta, En) for ash and OM, respectively. The effect of location on chemical composition varied among the plant types with significantly higher (P < 0.05) levels of CP in most of the Kd plants. The range for GV, DMD, CH 4 percentage, CH reduction, FE, OMD, SCFA and ME were 85.00 (Ageratum conyzoides, Kd) 4 - 149.49 mL/g DM (Aloe barbadense, Kd), 525.50 (Sida acuta, Kd) - 764.50 g/Kg DM (Aframomum melegueta, En), 45.75 (Allium sativum, En) - 72.59% (Aframomum melegueta, Kd), 2.36 (Allium cepa, Kd) - 32.86% (Zingiber officinale,  Kd), 4.23 (Sida acuta, Kd) - 8.12 (Ageratum conyzoides, Kd), 45.83 (Ageratum conyzoides, Kd) – 57.18% (Cymbopogon citratus, Enugu; Aloe barbadense, Kd), 0.35 (Ageratum conyzoides, Kd) - 0.66 mmol/200 mg DM (Cymbopogon citratus, En) and 5.18 (Ageratum conyzoides, Kd) – 6.93 MJ/Kg DM (Cymbopogon citratus, En; Aloe barbadense, Kd) respectively. Allium sativum bulbs, Zingiber officinale rhizomes, Cymbopogon citratus and Sida acuta (both locations) reduced CH production without adversely affecting the desired fermentation parameters indicating 4 that the medicinal plants have methane reducing potential. Keywords: Medicinal herbs, spices, in-vitro, rumen fermentation and methanogenesi