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The effect of A. angustissima leaf meal based diets on intestinal physiology and dressed carcass weight was investigated on 150 day old chicks. Three diets, 0, 5 and 10% A. angustissima were used in a three phase feeding programme. At days 14, 28 and 42, two birds from each replicate were slaughtered, dressed and weighed. The weights and lengths of the duodenum, jejunum and colon were measured. Approximately 1 cm specimen was taken from each organ, fixed in formalin and stained for histological analysis. Using a light microscopy, the digestive and absorptive properties of the tissues were assessed. Inclusion of A. angustissima leaf meal increased intestinal wall thickness, epithelial thickness, and villus height of the duodenum (P < 0.05). There was no effect on the proportional weight and length of the jejunum, jejunum villi height and villi width (P > 0.05) but jejunum wall thickness decreased with increasing levels of the leaf meal (P < 0.05). Leaf meal inclusion resulted in an increase in weight, intestinal wall and mucosal thickness of the colon (P < 0.05) and a decline in sub-mucosal fold height and haustra coli width of the colon (P < 0.05). Dressed weight was the same across diets at two weeks (P > 0.05). At four and six weeks, broilers on the control and 5% diet had superior dressed weights to the 10% fed broilers (P < 0.05). It was concluded that for intestinal physiological adaptation that will not compromise weight gain in broilers, up to 5% A. angustissima could be included in broiler diets.

The objective of the study was to determine serum lipid, enzyme, and hematological responses of broilers to Acacia angustissima leaf meal. Acacia angustissima leaves were harvested at mid maturity, ground into a leaf meal, and included in broiler diets at 0, 5, and 10%. One hundred and fifty-day-old chicks of 41.7 ± 1.560 g were randomly allocated to 15 groups of the three diets. Feed and water were provided ad libitum throughout the trial. At days 14, 28, and 42, 4 ml of blood were collected from the jugular vein in plain vacutainer tubes for alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and total cholesterol (TC) analyses. At the end of the experiment, 4 ml of blood were collected from two randomly selected birds of each replicate in sterilized bottles containing ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) for full blood count and packed cell volume assessment. Data was tested for normality and analyzed using the General Linear Model Procedure of SAS version 9.3 (SAS 2010). Comparison of means was done using Tukey's test. A. angustissima had no effect on serum ALP, AST, LDH, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, TG, full blood count, and packed cell volume. Increasing levels of A. angustissima leaf meal increased the ALT in the serum (p < 0.05) at 4 and 6 weeks. However, serum ALT indices for birds on the control and 5% diet were not different. It was concluded that 5% A. angustissima leaf meal can be included in broiler diets without a negative effect on serum lipid and enzyme profile, production and proportions of white blood cells and packed cell volume.

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