Daddy, F.

Ilesanmi, B.D.

Okoye, F.C.

English

Aquatic Commons

THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF WATER HYACINTH
Wichhornia crassipes) AND ITS UTILISATION IN FISH FEED
P.C. OKOYE, F. DADDY and B.D.JLESANMJ
National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research,
P. M. B. 6606, New Bussa, Niger State.
ABSTRACT
Analyses of five different parts of water hyacinth, viz.: leaves, petioles, roots,
whole plant without roots and whole plant were carried out at NIFFR Central
Laboratory. This is to evaluate their potentials in animal feed composition.
The proximate analysis shows that the moisture content ranged from 92.13% in
the roots to 85.15% in the leaves with a mean of 90.39%. The ash content ranged
from 39.80% in the roots to 16.79% in the leaves. For the crude lipids, the least
value of I .2% came from the roots while the petioles had the highest value of
2.10%. The percentage crude fibre ranged from 12.15 in the roots to 21.97% in
the whole plant without the roots with a mean value of 14.41%. The percentage
crude protein ranged from 7.11 in the petioles through 7.67 in the whole plant to
15.27% in the leaves. The leaves therefore had almost twice the values obtained
for the other parts of the plant.
Using water hyacinth leaves to ferinulate feed might increase the crude protein
level of the feed and might aid in the digestibility of the feed. Its crude protein
level compares favourably with the crude protein content of cassava leaves, potato
leaves and pawpaw leaves and could be used to replace those leaves in fish diet.
The mineral composition showed that the whole plant without the roots had more
potassium (K) closely followed by the petioles. Sodium (Nat) was however
highest in the petioles.
INTRODUCTION
Since the emergence of water hya..
cinth to Nigerian water bodies in 1984
through the Benin Republic (via Port
Novo Creek), the weed had continued to
plague the coastal waters and other river-
me areas of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta and
65
Edo States (Akinyemiyu, 1987). Shortly
after this surge, the plant was further
reported on Kainji Lake with the
continued arrival of the weed with the
annual flood from the upper reaches of
River Niger in Mali and Niger where the
established water hyacinth had not been
controlled (Ayeni and Daddy, 1994).
Water hyacinth is a pleustophytic
hydatophyte, a cosmopolitan aquatic weed
w1iich can tolerate a wide range of
environmental conditions such as
temperature, illumination, pH, salinity,
wind, current and drought. The plant is
morphologically very plastic with a rapid
mode of vegetative propagation which
makes it well adapted to long distance
dispersal and successful colonization of
diverse ecological niches. It is one of the
most prolific aquatic plants which spreads
at an alarming rate having spikes of large
blue flowers and roundish leaves with
inflated bladder - like petioles.
The disadvantages associated with
this alarming growth rate include nuisance
to fisheries, water transportation
(navigation), blocking of water supply
system and hydro-electric power
generation. This plant however has some
positive uses. Studies have shown that the
plant serves as industrial raw material for
paper making, biogas production, organic
manure (compost), potash and fish feed
formulation (Little, 1979). Also, in its
natural form and at low infestation, it
serves as fish food, where herbivorous
fishes are stocked and cultured in
combination with other non-predatory
species to promote the growth of fish
(Ling, 1960). In China for example,
presence of small quantities of water
hyacinth is encouraged iti fish ponds
because fish find food among the roots.
The use of water hyacinth in fish feed will
reduce the present dependence on other
competitive agricultural crops used in
compounding feeds. Fish feed is expen-
sive and can account for 60% of the
variable cost in a fish culture operation
and this has forced nutritionists to
consider alternative sources of plant based
protein source such as Soy beans,
groundnut cake and others at low cost for
fish (Akinyama, 1988).
To enhance the full utilisation of this
weed, the evaluation of its nutritive value
in this study has the following objectives:
i. To determine the chemical composi-
tion of the various parts of the water
hyacinth.
ii. To evaluate based on its nutritive
value, its potentials in fish feed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experimental Site
The experimental plant, water
hyacinth, was harvested from the National
Institute for Freshwater Fisheries
Research (NIFFR), aviary which is
situated in the Aquatic Weed Control
Centre. Samples of the plant were
collected from the open clean concrete
tanks without any form of fertilisation.
The plants were taken to the Institute's
Central Laboratory for analyses. The plant
was categorised into five samples, viz.
leaves, petioles, roots, whole plant
without roots and whole plant.
Laboratory Analyses
The five samples were washed thorou-
ghly and analysed for the following:
(a) Moisture. content
Fresh samples were weighed and oven
dried at a temperature of 80° C for 48
hours. The loss in weight using the
formula below gave the moisture content
of the riginal sample.
66
B-C 100
Moisture content = B - AX 1
(lOOmi)
where: A = Weight of the empty beaker
B = Weight of beaker + sample
before oven drying.
C = Weight of the beaker +
sample after oven drying at
temperature of 80°C for 24
hours (Little ci. al. 1967).
(b) Ash Content
Known weight of each sample was
subjected to a red muffle furnace at a
temperature of 500°C for 6 hours. The
loss in weight using the formula below
gave the ash content of the original
sample.
AshContent(%)'=D—A x 100
C-A 1
where: A Weight of the crucible
C = Weight of the crucible +
sample after oven drying.
D Weight of the cucible ± Ash
after oven drying at a
temperature of 5000C for
6 hours.
(c) Crude Protein content:
The crude protein content was determined
using the modified micro-kjeldahl method
(AOAC, 1980) using the formula below
(Chow, 1980).
.MxO.Ol4xDxTx6.25x 100
Weight of sample (g)
where: M = Molarity of Acid used
0.014 = Nitogcn constant per
1000 ml (wt of N2 in g,
14 in mg)
D Volume after dilution
67
T = Titre of sample
6.25 = Protein conversion factor (1mg
of N2 6.25mg of 100 =
Percentage conversion factor.
(jd) crude Lipid/Fat content
Each sample was subjected to
petroleum ether extraction method of
AOAC (1980) using Soxhiet apparatus at
a temperature of 40°C for 6 hours. The
formula below was used to calculate the
percentage crude lipid/fat content of the
sample.
Weight of flask x Fat — Weight of Flask x
Weight of Sample (g) I
(è) Crude Fibre Content
This involved treating each sample
with dilute sulphuric acid and dilute
sodium hydroxide before subjecting it to
ash content treatment at 500°C for 6
hours. The ash was weighed and the
difference in weight gave the amount of
crude fibre in the sample, using the
formula:
Where: A=
BCx 100
A 1
Weight of the sample (g)
B Weight of the crucible +
residue after oven drying
C Weight of the crucible +
residue (ash) after oven
drying.
(f Preparation of Plant for
Exchange Cation
Out of the exchangeable cations only Na
and I( were determined. A flame
photometer was used to take the record of
potassium ion (K') and Sodium ion (Na)
after percentage emission (% E) had been
determined. The potassium ion (K') and
Sodium ion (Na) content in the plant
tissue was calculated using the formula
(AQAC, 1980).
For K' and Na %
= C (ppm) x Solution volume (ml)
10 x Sample Weight (g)
where C = Cation reading for the sample
in the standard curve.
1
4
= Constant
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 shows the mean of percentage
moisture content, crude protein content,
crude lipid/fat content, fibre content,
potassium ion (K') and sodium (Na) for
the five samples of water hyacinth which
consists of leaves, petioles, roots, whole
plant without roots and whole plant. The
leaves had the least moisture content of
85.15% while the roots which are
constantly in contact with water had the
highest water content of 92.13%. Though
there was no significant difference (P
0.05) among the replicates, the same trend
was obtained by Little (1967) while
working in unfertilized medium in Sudan
and got the following results 88.1, 86.7,
93.9 and 91.7% for leaves, roots, petioles
and whole plant respectively. In another
similar study, Little (1979) obtained a
range of moisture content of 80.95% as
against 85.15 — 92.13 obtathed in this
study.
The percentage ash content on dry
matter basis of the five samples ranged
from 16.79 in the leaves to 39.80 in the
roots with a mean of 23.75. The high
value obtained for the roots might be
attributed to their direct contact and
accumulation of absorption nutrients of
the growing media. The root system
possesses a lot of fibrious roots that aid
absorption of nutrient materials from its
environment. According to Boyd (1974)
the concentration of most chemicals in
aquatic species varies when harvested at
similar stages of maturity but from
different sites! environment.
The percentage crude protein varied
from 6.67 in the roots to 15.27 in the
leaves with a mean of 11.79 for all the
samples. The crude protein level obtained
in this study is higher than the 11.7, 0.7
and 1.2 obtained by Chalmer (1968) for
leaves, petioles and rdots respectively.
The crude protein of water hyacinth
leaves is higher than that of corn grit
'maize' (10.77) (Boyd, 1969); guinea corn
(11.22) and very close to palm kernel cake
(19.06) (Eyo, 1994) and duck weed
(26.30) (Mbagwu and Adeniji (1988).
These are ingredients either taken directly
by fishes or used as major ingredient in
fish feed formulation.
The percentage crude lipid/fat varied
from 1.24 in the roots tci 2.10 in the
petiole with a mean of 1.62. There seems
to be not much difference in the fat
content of the various samples. The
petiole possesses both xylem and phloem
tissues for storage and transportation of
food materials and this is responsible for
the high fat content. The roots showing
the lowest value means that no food
manufactured during photosynthesis is
stored there. The mean value of the lipid
content (1.67) compares favourably with
the result of Hossain (1959) working with
similar specimens in unfertilized water
body.
68
The value of crude fibre varies from
12.15 in the roots to 21.97 in the whole
plant without roots. The fibrous structure
material present is a combined factor of
petiole and leaves.
The percentage potassium (K+) of the
various samples in decreasing order is
2.69, 2.58, 1.57, 1.55 and 0.31 for whole
plant without roots, petioles, whole plant,
leaves and roots, respectively with a mean
of 1.74. Sodium gave 0.76, 0.60, 0.47,
0.31 and 0.10 for petioles, whole plant,
whole plant without roots and leaves,
respectively with a mean value of 0.46.
Water hyacinth is effective in removing
excess nutrients in a water body. It will
absorb nutrient than the body can utilize
(Wolverton and McDonald, 1976) and
that is why the leaves are always very
luxurious in a rich water body. Richard
and McLean (1963) reported that the
analyses of plant materials for minerals
generally ranged from 0.2
— 0.5 and 0.01
to 0.05 for potassium and sodium
respectively. However, when compared
with the results obtained in this study, the
concentration of potassium and sodium in
water hyacinth could be seen to be very
high. This relative high mineral content
could make water hyacinth a good
additive for enriching the soil and as a
dietary supplement.
Table 1: Means of Pereeiitage Moisture Content, Ash Content, Crude Protein
Content, Crude Fat/Lipid Content, Fibre Content, Potassium loll (K) and Sodium
Jon Na) of the Samples of Water Hyacinth.
Analyses Leaves Petiolcs Roots Whole Plant
Without Roots
Whole
Plant
Moisture content 85.15 91.78 92.13 91.30 91.88
Ash content 16.79 18.48 39.80 19.01 24.68
CrudeProtein 15.27 9.96 6.67 7.14 7.11
Crude lipidlfat 1.56 2.10 1.24 1.90 1.31
Crude fibre 15.23 20.80 12.15 21.97 16.90
Potassium ion (K") 1.55 2.58 0.31 2,69 1.57
Sodium ion (Na") 0.10 0.76 0.37 0.47 0.60
CONCLUSION
The proximate analysis of five
different parts of water hyacinth plant was
determined at the NIFFR Central
Laboratory. It showed that the leaves had
the highest percentige of crude protein
level of 15.27 whi the petioles gave
lowest value of 7.11. The leaves equally
had lowest values for moisture, ash and
crude fibre as well as potassium and
sodium.
The roots were low in crude protein
level (6.67) and crude fat/lipid but high in
moisture and ash. This eliminates the root
in any form of feed supplement. The
whole plant without the roots had the
69
highest value for crude fibre and pota-
ssium.
Most aquatic plants have good
potentials as animal feed. This includes
Azolla species and Lemna species. Water
hyacinth seems to be very nutritive based
on this study since the protein content is
higher than some feed ingredients used in
fish feed formulation. Fishes may not
accept them directly as in Lemna
paucicostata or Azzolla species but the
leaves and petioles can be incorporated in
animal feed to provide all the protein,
crude fat and minerals required daily at
very low cost. Their regular harvesting
for feed formulation could aid their
removal from water bodies where they
obstruct navigation or where they are
regarded as nuisance. The petioles and
leaves of water hyacinth could be tried as
on of the non-conventional feedstuff.
REFERENCES:
Akinyanma, D. M. (1988). Soya bean meal
uttlisation in fish feed. Paper presented at the
Korean Feed Association Conference Seout,
Korea, 1988.
Akinyemiju, O.A. (1987). Official methods
Analysis. Association of Official Agricultural
Chemists. Washington D.C. 975pp.
Ayeni, i.S.O. and Daddy, F. (1994). Control and
utilisation of aquatic weeds: Water Hyacinth
and Niger grass on Lake Kainji. NIFFR 1994
Annual Report. Pp.
Boyd, C.E. (1974). Utilisation of Aquatic plants. In,
Aquatic vegetation and its usc and control.
Ed. By D.S. Mitchell Paris, UNESCO, pp. 107
— 144.
Chalmers, M.I. (1968), Report to World Food
Programme on a visit to Sudan. Study on the
use of water hyacinth in ruminant animal
feeding. Rome, FAO, ACC. No.02787 — 68
WS.
Chow, KU. (1980). The minerals of fish feed
Technology UNYP/FAO, ADLP/G/80/I 1//104
— 108.
Eyo, A.A. (1994). The requirements for formulating
standard artificial fish feeds. Paper presented
at the jji Annual Gonference of the Fisheries
Society of Nigeria (FISON,) held at the Lagos
State. Secretariat Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja,
Lagos State. 22nd — 24th February, 1994.
l5pp.
1-lossain, W. (1959). Investigation of water hyacinth
as a fodder. Agric. Pak. (4): 53 - 58.
Ling, S.W. (1960). Control of Aquatic Vegetation.
Third hit. Inland Fisheries Training Centre,'
Borgor, Inonesia Vol.1 (3.23) pp. 12.
Little, E.C.S. (1958). Handbook of utilisation of
aquatic plants. FAO Fisheries Technical
Paper No. 187 ltEd.
Little, E.C.S. and Henson, I.E. (1967). The water
content of some important tropical water
weeds. pg. 223 -.227.
Mbagwu, 1.0. and Adeniji, H.A. (1988). The
nutritional content of duckweed (Lemna
Paucicoslata Hegelum) in the Kainji Lake
Area. Nigeria Aquatic Botany 29: 357 —366.
Wolverton, B.C. and McDonald, R.C. (1976).
Don't waste water weeds. New Scientist. 12th
August, 1976: 318—320.
70



The nutritive value of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and its utilisation in fish feed

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The nutritive value of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and its utilisation in fish feed

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