RESPONSE OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF GOATS TO DIETS CONTAINING Phyllanthus amarus (STONE-BREAKER)SHOOT POWDER AS PHYTOGENIC FEED ADDITIVE

Abstract

ABSTRACT The hazardous effects of antibiotics justify the ban on its usage in animal feed by the European Union in 2006. Thus, there is a need to find alternatives to antibiotics in order to bridge the existing gap between improved animal performance and safety of animal products to consumers. This study investigated the effect of diets containing Phyllanthus amarus shoot powder (PASP) on in vitrostudies and nutrient utilization by West African Dwarf Goats (WAD). Two experiments were conducted: Experiment 1 investigated the in vitro gas production, fermentation characteristics and post-incubation parameters of diets containing PASP. The experimental substrate consists of Panicum maximum and a formulated concentrate diet which consist of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg/g DM PASP. Gas production was carried out for 48 hours and methane production was estimated. In vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), In vitro crude protein digestibility (IVCPD) and In vitro neutral detergent fibre digestibility (IVNDFD) were determined.In Experiment 2, Twenty-four West African Dwarf Goats with body weight range of 9.5 – 11.2 kg were used for the experiment. The animals were allocated on a weight equalization basis to four dietary treatments (six animals per treatment) in a Completely Randomized Design. The animals were fed concentrate diets containing 0, 5, 10 and 15 mg/g inclusion level of PASP and Panicum maximum as basal diet. The feeding trial lasted for 84 days. Data obtained from the two experiments were subjected to one-way analysis of variance and means were separated using the Duncan's multiple range test. Performance characteristics, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen utilization, microbial analysis of rumen fluid, haematological and serum biochemical indices were evaluated.PASP reduced IVDMD and IVNDFD at 15 mg/g inclusion level.The weight gain was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by PASP with animals fed diets containing 10 mg/g PASP having the highest weight gain of 3.53 kg. Animals offered diet containing 15 mg/g PASP had the highest(p< 0.05) dry matter intake (DMI), crude protein (CP) and crude fibre (CF) digestibility of 79.17%, 82.37% and 78.90%, respectively while the lowest DMI,CP and CF digestibility (73.51%, 76.70% and 68.77%) was recorded respectively with animals fed 0 mg/g PASP. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was best with animals fed diets containing 10 and 15 mg/g PASP (8.85 and 9.46), respectively. Nitrogen retention was significantly (p< 0.05) influenced by PASP with animals offered diets containing 15 mg/g PASP having the highest value of 73.67%. Protozoa count reduced significantly in animals fed diets containing 10 and 15 mg/g PASP (0.12 × 103 cell/ml) and (0.13 × 103 cell/ml) respectively.There were significant (p< 0.05) differences in red blood cell count and serum glucose of the animals fed diets containing 15 mg/g PASP having highest value of (10.70 × 1012 /L) and (61.60 mg/dl) respectively. This study concluded that 15 mg/g PASP inclusion in the diet of WAD Goats improved weight gain, FCR, DMI,Nitrogen retention,red blood cell and serum glucose.