Proximate composition of M. oleifera leaf meal
Proximate composition of
M. oleifera leaf meal was shown in Table 2. The result was numerically higher than the findings of
Aja et al., (2013) where proximate contents were carbohydrate, 23%; crude protein, 1.40%; ash, 10%; calcium, 151.1mg/100g and phosphorous, 3.85mg/100g. Conversely, the content of ether extract, 20% and crude fibre, 35% were reported by
Aja et al., (2013). In another study,
Ogbe and Affiku (2012) reported that
Moringa Oleifera leaves contained crude protein, 17.0%; carbohydrate, 63.11%; crude fibre, 7.09%; ash, 7.93% and crude fat, 2.11%. Variations in proximate composition of
M. oleifera leaf meal could be attributed to differences in the soil characteristics where the leaves were sourced, processing and analytical methods, the age of harvest, etc. These attributes were in line with the findings of
Salim et al., (2018) where the nutritional content of the bud, young and old moringa leaves varied significantly. The amount of ash, protein, fat, crude fibre and carbohydrate were found to be higher in moringa leaves when dried with lower temperature than higher temperature
(Olabode et al., 2015). Olayemi et al., (2011) reported a significant increase in the carbohydrate content of
M. oleifera leaves dried with multipurpose drier and sun drying than the air-dried method with a corresponding decrease in the protein and fat contents of the different products.
Growth performance
There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the final body weight of the pullets fed with or without
M. oleifera leaf meal (Table 3). However, the pullets fed with 2.5%
M. oleifera leaf meal had the highest mean final weight (1449.33 ± 70.15g) but did not differ significantly from those of other treatments. Athough there was no signicant differences (P>0.05) in daily weigh gain of the pullets fed without or with
M. oleifera supplemented diets, weight gains of pullets fed
M. oleifera leaf meal declined as the quantity of inclusion of moringa in the diet was increased. In line with results of the present study,
Gadzirayi et al., (2012) and
Akhouri, et al., (2013) reported non-significant difference in the body weight gain of broiler chicken fed with moringa leaf meal and the control. Average daily body weight gain was reported to be higher in broilers fed with moringa leaf-based feed than the control
(Nkukwana et al., (2014). However,
Richter et al., (2003) observed a decrease in the average weight gain with inclusion of higher dose of moringa leaf meal. The variability in the weight gain might be due to the variability in the animals studied, between and within breed differences, temperature, source of moringa leaves and different forms of moringa used.
Daily feed intake of the pullets showed significant (P<0.05) differences among the treatment groups. Pullets in the control group fed without
M. oleifera leaf meal in diets recorded higher daily feed intake (P<0.05) compared with those pullets fed
M. oleifera supplemented diets. Pullets fed diets 3 and 4 consumed less feed (38.15 and 36.2 g, respectively) than those fed diets 1 and 2. There was no significant difference in feed intake between the pullets fed with 5% and 7.5%
M. oleifera leaf meal. Present findings was supported by
Alabi et al., (2017), who found that birds in the control treatment had the highest feed intake value (84.70g/day) which was an indication that inclusion of
M. oleifera leaf extract depressed feed intake. Decreased feed intake of pullets fed diet supplemented with
M. oleifera leaf powder might be attributed to the change in taste and palatability resulting from the presence of tannin and saponin in Moringa leaves
(Ndubuaku et al., 2015). The presence of tannins in diets causes decreased feed consumption in pullets and reduces the palatability of feeds (
Soetan and Oyewole, 2009;
Shete et al., 2011). Ashok and Upadhyaya (2012) reported that the intensity of bitterness in taste depends on the concentration of tannins in a plant. Behavioural and genetic evidence show that pullets have an accurate capacity to detect different taste modalities
(Roura et al., 2013). Change in taste imparted by the presence of tannin may limit feed intake.
Present findings revealed that a significant difference existed (p<0.05) in the FCR of the pullets fed with the control and experimental diets (Table 3). The FCR of pullets fed with the control diet was statistically higher (P<0.05) than those fed 7.5%
M. oleifera supplemented diets. There was no significant difference in the FCR between the pullets fed
M. oleifera leaf meal. These findings were in agreement with
Abou-Elezz et al., (2012) where they observed that layers fed with
M. oleifera leaf meal had a better feed conversion ratio compared to those fed the control diet. Lower values of FCR were also recorded in broilers fed with varying quantities of
M. oleifera leaf meal (
Onunkwo and George, 2015;
Alabi et al., 2017).
