Chemical composition and in sacco degradability of four varieties of cassava leaves grown in Southwestern Nigeria in the rumen of sheep

Abstract

The nutritive value of leaves of four varieties of cassava (MS 6, TMS 30555, Idileruwa and TMS 30572) were studied through analysis of their chemical components and degradability of their dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) in the rumen of sheep. Results of the chemical analyses showed that the leaves of the four varieties contained different proportions of organic matter which was significantly (P < 0.05) highest in TMS 30572 with value of 935 g/kg DM, while CP (gram per kilogramme DM) was significantly highest in TMS 30555 (240), followed by MS 6 (235), TMS 30572 (208) and least in Idileruwa (177). Mean metabolisable energy (megajoules per kilogramme DM) was significantly (P < 0.05) highest in TMS 30572 (8.2) and similar with Idileruwa (8.0) but different from TMS 30555 and MS 6, respectively (7.8 and 7.6). The mineral contents (gram per kilogramme DM) showed that leaves of MS 6 and Idileruwa had the highest concentrations of K (2.86) and a significantly lowest value (1.83) in TMS 30555. Also, the highest concentration of Ca and Fe (6.81 and 6.23) was recorded in MS 6. The highest Ca:P of 3.20 was obtained in TMS 30555. DM degradation characteristics and effective degradability varied significantly (P < 0.05) and were consistently highest in TMS 30572. The washing loss (a) ranged from 15.9% in MS 6 to 21.3% in TMS 30572. TMS 30572 tended to have higher (P = 0.546) insoluble but fermentable fraction (b) than all other varieties. Moreover, the potential degradability (a + b) tended to be higher (P = 0.041) in TMS 30572 (69.5%) followed by TMS 30555 (67.1%) and the lowest was in Idileruwa (42.7%). The highest effective degradability was recorded in TMS 30572 (63.9%) and the lowest in Idileruwa (40.7%). The degradation rate constants (c) of Idileruwa was significantly higher (P = 0.001) than those of MS6, TMS 30555 and TMS 30572. The results generally indicated that the leaves could be ranked for their potential feeding value as TMS 30572 (71.5%) > MS6 (65.8%) > Idileruwa (63.0%) > TMS 30555 (50.4%). It is therefore concluded from this study that leaves of TMS 30572 and MS 6 have good potential as feed resources for ruminant animals and could be used in ruminant feeding as protein source ingredient.

Cassava Foliage Effects on Antioxidant Capacity, Growth, Immunity, and Ruminal Microbial Metabolism in Hainan Black Goats

“…The ADFI, ADG, and FCR are important indicators of animal feed value. Here, goat diets containing cassava foliage promoted growth, consistent with effects seen for ruminants in West Africa [9,15]. However, it has also been reported that cassava leaves contain antinutrients (e.g., hydrogen cyanide [HCN]), which may affect animal health and growth [27].…”

“…In less developed countries and regions lacking high-quality feed, adding cassava foliage to animal diets has a positive effect on digestion, growth, and gastrointestinal tract development [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. However, for each ruminant species, there is an optimum percentage of cassava foliage in the diet to maximize growth; for example, the ideal is 75% for sheep, 60% for West African Dwarf goats, 50% for pigs, and 5% for geese [ 9 , 10 , 13 , 15 ]. Based on the above studies, cassava foliage should support goat production in tropical China, but the ideal ratio of cassava foliage supplementation remains unknown.…”

Effect of replacing alfalfa hay with a mixture of cassava foliage silage and sweet potato vine silage on ruminal and intestinal digestion in sheep

“…; Oni et al . ). The CP content of the experimental diets was planned to be 12% of DM to provide 1.5 times CP requirement for maintenance (National Research Council (NRC) ) and the recommended level for fattening ruminants (NARO ).…”

“…The CF contained higher CP but lower ruminal degradable protein than AH (Oni et al . ; Miranda et al . ).…”

Serum Chemistry of UDA Rams Fed Graded Levels of Parkia biglobosa (African Locust Bean) Fruit Pulp

“…Onwuka & Akinsoyinmu [6] stated that the presence of mineral elements in animal feed is vital for the animals' metabolic process. This goes to buttress the idea that common salt (NaCl) supplementation is ideal in goat and sheep where browse is the sole feed [7]. The use of herbaceous forage legumes in livestock production systems for ruminants in the tropics has increased as the legumes are rich in protein which is usually the most limiting nutrient in tropical animal diets [8].…”