Haematology, serum biochemistry and organ histopathology of rabbits fed graded levels of Whole Kenaf (Hibiscus canabinus) seed meal.

摘要

An experiment was conducted with 36 crossbred rabbits (49 days old) averaging 650 g to assess the haematology, serum biochemistry, organ weights and organ histopathology of growing rabbits fed graded levels of Whole Kenaf Seed Meal (WKSM) of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% as a replacement of Soyabean Meal (SBM) in 12 week feeding trial. Blood samples were collected from the animals through the ear vein for haematology and serum biochemistry while samples of visceral organs were collected from the animals after they were stunned and sacrificed after the 12 week feeding trials. Results showed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the value obtained for packed cell volume, haemoglobin concentration and red blood cell counts while there was no significant difference among the blood constants (MCV, MCH and MCHC). Among the leukocyte differential counts examined, lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils were not significantly different among the dietary treatments, however neutrophil was significantly (p<0.05) highest in animals fed 80% WKSM. The serum proteins examined were not significantly (p>0.05) affected by the dietary treatments except the albumin. Serum enzymes (AST and ALT) of the experimental rabbits were significantly (p<0.05) higher in rabbits fed 60, 80 and 100% WKSM than others. Relative organ weight of various visceral organs examined except kidney, liver and heart were significantly influenced by the dietary treatments. Pancreas weight in the control is significantly lower than in the other dietary treatments. The result of histopathological examination of selected organs (liver, kidney and spleen) revealed damage done to the organs by the dietary treatments. Severe hepatic necrosis of the liver was observed in all the treatments except the control. The results suggest that although WKSM possess good dietary protein quality for optimal growth of rabbits the inclusion levels above 20% in the diet of growing rabbits significantly altered haematological parameters and induce pancreatic hypertrophy and beyond 40% it induced damages and dysfunction of visceral organs.Digital Object Identifier http://dx.doi.org/10.3923/ijar.2012.86.92