Preliminary evaluation of raw Alchornea cordifolia seeds as feed ingredients for broilers

摘要

Somechemicalandanti-nutritionalcharacteristicsaswellasthefeedingvalueoftheseedsofAlchorneacordifoliaplantonbroilerswereinvestigated.Thematuredriedseedcontains13.7%crudeprotein,5.10%crudefibre,4.90%crudefat,4.90%ashand60.7%carbohydrates.Italsocontainsphyticacids,saponins,tannins,cardiacglycosides,steroids,flavonoids,alkaloids,andanthraquinonebutnotcyanides.nbsp;nbsp;InclusionofrawAlchorneaseedmealat5,10and15%instarterbroilerdiets,fed0#8211;28daysofagecausedprogressivereductionsingrowthandby28day,broilersfed15%Alchorneadietweighed32.8%ofcontrol.Feedintakesandfeedconversionratiosdeclinedsignificantly(P0.05)amongtheAlchorneaseeddietgroupsrelativetocontrol.At5%level,Alchorneaseedpromotedmuchbettergrowth,feedintakeandfeedconversionratiothan15%butthevaluesweresignificantly(P0.05)lessthancontrol.Theenzymealanineaminotransferase(ALT)werehigher,andalkalinephosphatase(ALP)andaspartateaminotransferase(AST)tendedtobelower,forAlchorneaseedscomparedwithcontrol.nbsp;ItisconcludedthatrawAlchorneacordifoliaseedistoxictobroilerchicksanddepressedtheirperformanceat5#8211;10%dietarylevels.FurtherstudiesonprocessedAlchorneaseedsareworthwhileconsideringitshighseedyieldinmosttropicalcountries.