Effect of Garlic Powder (Allium sativum) Supplement on Blood Chemistry of West African Dwarf Rams

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of supplementing ruminant diets with garlic powder as source of natural feed additives on blood chemistry in sheep. Forty West African Dwarf (WAD) rams with average live weight of 12.41±0.3kg, aged1-2 years were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments with eight animals per treatment in a Completely Randomized Design. The garlic powder was supplemented at 0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% in a formulated diet. Feeding trials lasted for a period of twelve weeks after four weeks period of acclimatization to the experimental pen. The effect of the dietary treatments on blood chemistry revealed significant difference (P<0.05) in high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol but no significant different in triglycerides (TG) levels among dietary treatments. It is evident that garlic powder can be supplemented up to 8% without any side effect on biochemical indices of West Africa Dwarf (WAD) ram.