A comparative analysis of the proximate and mineral composition of whole Citrus limon and Citrus clementina as a prospective alternative feed resource for livestock farming in South Africa

Abstract

Citrus is a well-known vital fruit grown in South Africa. The presence of important bio-nutrients and metabolites within the different Citrus fruits indicates their significant nutritional qualities. This study is aimed to evaluate the proximate and mineral components of whole Citrus limon and Citrus clementina while considering them as prospective feed material for livestock farmers in South Africa. The nutritional evaluation was done using standard analytical procedures of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). The mineral constituents of the whole citrus samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). From the result, the nutritional analysis showed that the whole C. limon contains significantly higher moisture content (14.13 ± 0.57) and fiber content (24.48 ± 0.61) than C. clementina (11.41 ± 1.24 and 20.66 ± 1.07). Meanwhile, C. clementina had a significantly higher protein value (8.65 ± 0.04) compared to C. limon (5.53 ± 0.10). Furthermore, the whole C. clementina had significantly higher K, Na, P, Zn, and Na+/K+ (1513.33 ± 16.99, 53.33 ± 4.71, 160.00 ± 0.00, 4.80 ± 0.00, and 1.09 ± 0.01) than the whole C. limon (1356.67 ± 20.55, 30.00 ± 0.00, 133.33±4.71, 1.67 ± 0.09, and 0.80 ± 0.02), respectively. While C. limon had significantly higher Ca, Mg, Mn, and Fe (593.33 ± 4.71, 160.00 ± 0.00, 1.00 ± 0.00, and 4.53 ± 0.25) compared to C. clementina (483.33 ± 4.71, 136.67 ± 4.71, 0.80 ± 1.11, and 3.43 ± 0.05). The study revealed variations in some nutritional and mineral components of whole C. limon and C. clementina; however, both citrus fruits have the potential to be explored for more significant livestock nutritional use in South Africa.

Promising future of citrus waste into fermented high-quality bio-feed in the poultry nutrition and safe environment

“…Because the citrus fruits that are currently being researched have a respectable quantity of fiber, these fruits could be an important source of roughage that could be useful as feed ingredients. Because of their relatively high protein content, entire Citrus limon and Citrus clementina fruits could be used as effective protein supplements in diets; nevertheless, Citrus clementina fruit has an advantage over citrus limon fruit in this regard ( Idamokoro et al, 2022 ). Proteins obtained from food are essential ingredients for the regeneration of damaged tissues and the development of muscle mass in animals.…”

Determination of the chemical and mineral composition of citrus by-products in relation to its utilization as a feed raw material

“…Different levels of magnesium (Mg) were observed in different citrus by-products as follows: Mandarin> Lime > Pomelo > Red Grapefruit > Lemon > Orange (Table 2). Magnesium is a macroelement that must be present in the ration of animals as it plays an important physiological role in many enzymatic reactions and also helps in metabolizing some of the main nutrients (Idamokoro et al, 2022). In addition to Mg, citrus fruits are also a source of calcium (Ca) and potassium (K) (Bampidis and Robinson, 2006).…”