Voluntary intake of selected indigenous browse species by west african dwarf goats.

Nine indigenous browse species were group-fed to ten West African Dwarf goats of mixed ages and sexes over a four-week experimental period to determine which of the browse plants would be the most preferred. The nine browse plants were Alchornea cordifolia, Baphia nitida, Rauwolifia vomitoria, Costus afer, Ficus capensis, Glypaea brevis, Harungana madagasoriensi,. Homalium aylmeri and Spondias mombin. On as-fed basis, Alchornea cordifolia was the most and Homolia aylmeri the least ( P < 0.05) preferred, values being 3.47 ± 0.28 and 0.50 ± 0.13 kg, respectively. On dry matter basis, Alchornea sp. was also the most preferred, with Harungana sp., Baphia sp. and again Homalium sp. the least (P < 0.05) preferred, the corresponding values being 1.23 ± 0.09, 0.24 ± 0.02, 0.21 ± 0.03 and 0.16 ± 0.04 kg, respectively. A comparison of the voluntary with chemical composition did not suggest any direct relationship of intake with the chemical composition of the browse plants.Journal of Applied Chemistry and Agricultural Research Vol. 1 (1) 1994: pp. 30-3

Dietary inclusion of dried Artemisia annua leaves for management of coccidiosis and growth enhancement in chickens

Coccidiosis constitutes a major problem in poultry rearing. Recourse to the use of prophylactic chemotherapy, for example, is only a short-term solution. Ostensibly, the drugs used are effective but they are also expensive. In the present study, the influence of adding dried Artemisia annua L. leaves as a botanical coccidistat in coccidia-infested broilers was investigated. Concurrently, the feed consumption pattern and weight gain in broilers as well as egg production rate and size in layers,respectively, were also evaluated. In untreated broilers, trophozoites increased an average of four-fold over 84 days. Inhibition of parasite growth in birds fed with rations containing A. annua leaves wasobserved just like with a commercial anticoccidial therapy. In addition, there was a higher feed intake which resulted in higher weight gain in the broilers. Weekly egg production rate, size and intensity of egg yolk colour were equally improved in all the layers fed with a mixture of commercial mash and A. annua leaves. This is an implicit indication that the addition of A. annua leaves to poultry feed serves asa potentially rich source of medication and nourishment for the birds

Nutritional characterisation and antioxidant capacity of different tissues of Artemisia annua L.

Evaluation of different tissues of Artemisia annua for their nutritional contents and antioxidant potential demonstrated that the leaves and inflorescences had the highest percentage of protein, crude fat and in vitro digestible fractions but the lowest levels of detergent fibres. These tissues also had the highest composition of the major elements as well as manganese and copper. Their relatively high amino acid and vitamin profiles equally reflect a desirable nutritional balance adding to their high antioxidant capacities. Collectively, these high levels of the different nutritional constituents and antioxidant activities coupled with the very low and often negligible levels of inherent anti-nutritive factors, especially in the leaves, which are far below recommended toxic levels, establishes A. annua as a good reservoir of nutrients and antioxidants that might favour its use as a potential herbal tonic by humans or an important supplementary feed additive for livestock production systems. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.11541240124