Browsing by Author "AJIDE, SOLOMON OLUSOJI"

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    FEEDING POTENTIALS OF STAR APPLE (CHRYSOPHYLLUM ALBIDUM) KERNEL IN BROILER CHICKENS
    (2018) AJIDE, SOLOMON OLUSOJI
    Maize constitutes the highest proportion of energy source in poultry diets. It is costly due to competition by man, industry and livestock. High rate of maize inclusion in diets translates to high cost of feed and reduce profit for livestock farmers. African Star Apple (Chrysophyllum albidum) Kernel (ASAK) is a potential alternative to maize because of its high energy content. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the proximate composition and phytochemicals of raw and processed ASAK; (ii) determine the optimum dietary inclusion level of raw ASAK; (iii) determine the effects of selected processing methods on the antinutritional contents and feeding value of ASAK; and (iv) determine the profitability of using ASAK meal in broiler diets. Five experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 investigated the proximate composition, phytochemicals and inclusion levels of raw ASAK in broiler diets. Experiment 2-5 examined the effects of processing ASAK meal with activated charcoal, bentonite, phytase or polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the antinutritional contents, growth performance, serum biochemistry, haematology, liver histology and profitability of broilers. Data collected on the response variables were subjected to analyses of variance as appropriate for a Completely Randomized Design (p< 0.05). The findings of the study were: (i ) energy and crude protein obtained for raw ASAK were 3.93 kcal/g and 8.71%, while phytate, tannins and saponins were 1,308.70, 1,037.47 and 12.15mg/kg, respectively; (ii) broilers fed graded levels of raw ASAK meal had a significantly (p<0.05) lower Weight Gain (WG), Feed Intake (FI) and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) compared with the control. The haematology and serum biochemistry were also significantly (p<0.05) different across the dietary treatments, 10-30% Dietary Level (DL) showed abnormal AST, ALT, ALP, creatinine, urea with severe liver degeneration; (iii) Activated charcoal and bentonite increased the energy and crude protein contents of ASAK by 0.01kcal/g and 7.80%, 0.07 kcal/g and 2.62%, respectively. Phytase and PEG reduced the energy of ASAK by 0.08 and 0.14kcal/g and increased the crude protein by 2.73 and 2.41%, respectively, residual saponins, phytate and tannin content reduced significantly across the processing methods; 33 (iv) broilers fed ASAK meal processed with activated charcoal, bentonite, phytase and PEG had significantly (p<0.05) poorer WG, FI, and FCR than the control at all dietary levels; (v) AST, ALT and ALP were abnormal with severe deposition of tars in the central vein of the liver in broilers fed activated charcoal processed ASAK and severe hepatocyte perturbation occurred in those fed PEG processed ASAK from 25-30% DL; and (vi) abnormal AST, ALT, ALP and severe liver degeneration occurred from 15 to 30% when bentonite and phytase processed ASAK were fed, while 20-30% DL of the later led to severe hepatocyte perturbation. In conclusion, broilers fed processed ASAK meal performed better than those fed raw ASAK, while those fed the control diet performed significantly better than those fed raw and processed ASAK. This study therefore recommends further studies that will unravel the best method to enhance the nutritive value of the ASAK meal in broilers diet.