Author(s)

Olujimi John Alagbe^1*, Anuore, Daniel Nnadozie², Erikanobong Effiong³

Affiliation(s)

¹Department of Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, Sumitra Research Institute, Gujarat, India.

²Department of Animal Science, University of Abuja, Nigeria.

³Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands.

Corresponding Author

Olujimi John Alagbe

ABSTRACT

This experiment was carried out to ascertain the impact of dietary supplementation of Persea americana stem bark on the growth performance and some haematological indices of weaner rabbit. A total of 5- weeks, 60 cross bred male rabbits randomly distributed into 5 groups each with 20 rabbits. Each group was further sub-divided in to five groups each with 2 rabbits of comparable group weight in a 60 day experimental period adopting a completely randomized design. Basal diet was formulated to meet all the nutrient requirements for growing rabbits. Animals in group 1 (G¹) was fed basal diet without Persea americana stem bark powder, G², G³, G⁴ and G⁵ received basal diet supplemented with Persea americana stem bark powder at 50 g, 100 g, 150 g and 200 g per kilogram diet respectively. Rabbits had unrestricted access to clean water and feed. Phytochemical screening of Persea americana stem bark powder revealed the presence of phenol and flavonoids as major phyto-compounds followed by terpenoids, tannins, alkaloids, steroids and saponins.  Average daily weight gain, average daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the treatment. Rabbits that received Persea americana stem bark powder had a higher average body weight, best feed conversion ratio and had no mortality compared to the control. Similarly, total erythrocyte, leucocyte, hematocrit, haemoglobin and lymphocytes had higher (P<0.05) values relative to the control. However, all recorded values were within the baseline ranges for healthy growing rabbits.  In conclusion, Persea americana stem bark powder can be added to weaner rabbit diets up to 200g/kg without affecting their growth performance and blood profile.

KEYWORDS

Food safety; Persea americana; Phyto-constituents; Performance; Stem bark

CITE THIS PAPER

Olujimi John Alagbe, Anuore, Daniel Nnadozie, Erikanobong Effiong. Impact of dietary supplementation of persea americana stem bark on the growth performance and some haematological indices of weaner rabbit. World Journal of Biomedical Sciences. 2024, 2(2): 49-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/wjbs3006.

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