Submit Manuscript

Pakistan Journal of Nutrition

Year: 2011 | Volume: 10 | Issue: 3 | Page No.: 254-259
Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit Linkedin StumbleUpon E-mail
Research Article

Effect of Feeding Graded Levels of Dacryodes edulis Seed Meal on the Haematological and Serological Indices of Broiler Chickens in the Tropics

L. Bratte

ABSTRACT

The effect of partial replacement of dietary maize with seeds of the African Pear (Dacryodes edulis G. Don, H.J. Lam) in the diets of broiler chickens on the haematological and serological indices of broilers was investigated. Two hundred and twenty-five (225) day-old Anak broilers were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments with 45 birds per treatment made up of three replicates of 15 bids each in which Dacryodes edulis Seed Meal (DESM) replaced maize at 0% (control), 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% levels at the starter (0-28 days) and finisher (29-56 days) phases of production. The birds in each treatment were provided feed and water ad libitum. Variations in the experimental diets (treatments) had no significant effect (p>0.05) on all the haematological and serological indices measured except blood cholesterol, which showed highly significant (p<0.01) differences with changes in the levels of dietary DESM. Weekly variations were, however, significant (p<0.05) for mean Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Haemoglobin (Hb) and urea and highly significant (p<0.01) for mean Red Blood Cell (RBC) count, Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) and mean blood cholesterol, glucose, creatinine, albumins, globulins and total proteins. Significant (p<0.05) Treatment x Time (Weeks) interaction effects occurred in mean PCV, WBC, Hb and in blood cholesterol. It was concluded, on basis of the similarity in the haematological and serological indices between the control diet and the other dietary treatments, that Dacryodes edulis Seed Meal could safely replace as much as 60% of the maize in conventional broiler diets without deleterious effects on broilers.
PDF References Citation

REFERENCES

  1. Adejumo, D.O. and G.A. Anyanwu, 2001. Haematological and histological evaluation of the response of pigs to Leucaena leaf meal supplement. Trop. J. Anim. Sci., 4: 35-40.
  2. Ajibesin, K.K., 2011. Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H.J. Lam: A review on its medicinal, phytochemical and economical properties. Res. J. Med. Plant, 5: 32-41.
    CrossRefDirect Link
  3. Akinola, S.O. and S.S. Abiola, 1999. Blood chemistry and carcass yield of cockerels fed melon husk diets. Trop. J. Anim. Sci., 2: 39-44.
  4. Awosanya, B., J.K. Joseph, D.F. Akpata and M.A. Ayoola, 1999. Performance, blood chemistry and carcass quality attributes of rabbits fed raw and processed Pueraria seed meal. Trop. J. Anim. Sci., 2: 89-96.
  5. Bell, G.H., D. Emslie-Smith and C.R. Patterson, 1992. Textbook of Physiology and Biochemistry. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp: 229-230.
  6. Bratte, L., F.U.C. Mmereole, O.J. Akpodiete and S.I. Omeje, 2010. The nutrient composition of seeds of the African Pear (Dacryodes edulis) and its implications for non-ruminant nutrition. Pak. J. Nutr., 9: 255-258.
    CrossRefDirect Link
  7. Cheesbrough, M., 1999. District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries, Part 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
  8. Duncan, D.B., 1955. Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics, 11: 1-42.
    CrossRefDirect Link
  9. Eggum, B.O., 1970. Blood urea measurement as a technique for assessing protein quality. Br. J. Nutr., 24: 983-988.
    PubMed
  10. Hanson, I., 2009. Toxicants and physicochemical characteristics of the seeds of African black pear (Dacryodes edulis). Afr. J. Food Agric. Nutri. Dev., 9: 1561-1569.
    CrossRefDirect Link
  11. Iyayi, E. and O. Tewe, 1998. Serum total protein, urea and creatinine levels as indices of quality of cassava diets for pigs. Trop. Vet., 16: 59-67.
  12. Mafimidiwo, A.O., A.O. Fanimo, C.F.I. Onwuka and O.O. Tewe, 1998. Performance and serum metabolites of grower pigs fed groundnut cake, extruded soyabean meal and cotton seed cake-based diets. Nig. J. Anim. Prod., 25: 152-156.
  13. Mitruka, B.M. and H.M. Rawnsley, 1977. Clinica, Biocheical and Hematological Reference Values in Normal Experimental Animals. Mason Publishing Inc., New York.
  14. Ross, J.G., G. Christie, W.G. Halliday and R.M. Jones, 1978. Haematological and blood chemistry comparison values for clinical pathology in poultry. Vet. Rec., 102: 29-31.
    PubMedDirect Link
  15. Steel, R.G.D. and J.H. Torrie, 1980. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw Hill Book Co., New York, USA., pp: 21-30.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *