Bulletin of the National Research Centre (Mar 2021)
Blood chemistry of West African dwarf goats fed treated maize cob- and maize husk-based diets with mixture of microorganisms
Abstract
Abstract Background Twenty-four West African Dwarf (WAD) goats with average weight of 6.57 ± 0.56 kg were used in investigating the effect of microbial-treated maize cob and husk diets on blood profile. The goats were assigned to six dietary treatments replicated four times in a completely randomized design. Chopped maize cobs and husks were sterilized for 60 min to eliminate any form of contamination and then inoculated with mixture of 15 ml each of Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Neurospora crassa and incubated anaerobically for 5 days and then air-dried. The treated maize cob and husk were incorporated in the diets at the rate of 0% (diet), 20% (diet B), 30% (diet C) [maize cob diets], and 0% (diet D), 20% (diet E), 30% (diet F) [maize husk diets], respectively. The animals were acclimatized for two weeks while the experimental period lasted for 56 days. A completely randomized design was adopted. Results The results showed that the dietary treatments significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the erythrocyte sedimentation rate which ranged from 0.50 to 1.00 mm/hr. Significant (P < 0.05) differences were observed in the globulin (28.16 g/dl diet A—59.26 g/dl diet B), aspartate aminotransferase (48.00 u/l diet E—128. 25 u/l diet C) and alanine aminotransferase (8.20 u/l diet A—33.33 u/l diet D). Serum electrolytes values were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. Conclusion Based on the findings of this study, microbial-treated maize cob and husk diets supported erythropoiesis did not induce any liver damage and the serum electrolytes of the animals were improved. Hence, microbial-treated maize cob and husk can be a suitable alternative feed source at 30% incorporation in a complete diet for WAD goats as adverse implications on the health of the animals was not observed.
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