BLOOD INDICES OF RABBITS FED WILD MELON (Adenopus breviflorus) - BASED DIETS
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Abstract
This study investigated the haematological and the serum biochemical indices of rabbits fed different parts of wild melon (Adenopus breviflorous) meal. A total of twenty-four mixed breed weaned rabbits (1400 + 0.05 g) of both sexes were used for the study. Three experimental diets were formulated comprising 0 % Adenopus breviflorous (ABM) meal for treatment (T1), 10 % of Adenopus breviflorous leaf meal (ABLM) for treatment (T2) and 10 % of Adenopus breviflorous pod meal (ABPM) for treatment (T3), respectively. The animals were randomized into three groups of 8 rabbits each using a completely randomized design on body weight and sex equalization basis. At the end of the feeding trial, blood samples were collected from four rabbits (2 females and 2 males) per treatment for hematological and serum biochemical assay, respectively. The result of the haematological analysis revealed that there were significant (p<0.05) differences between the treatment groups in red blood cell counts (6.09–7.26 × 10⁶/mm³), packed cell volume (42.67–48.00%), Haemoglobin (14.47–16.47 g/dl), white blood cell (8.13–9.16 × 10³/mm³), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (33.55–34.30 g/dl), respectively which were all within the normal haematological ranges for healthy rabbits. For serum biochemical indices; total protein, albumin and total cholesterol were within the ranges 6.01–6.65 g/dl, 3.08–4.07 g/dl and 68.00–81.20 mg/dl for T1, T2 and T3, respectively which were all within the normal ranges. The study concluded that rabbits fed up to 10% Adenopus breviflorous leaf and pod meal, respectively did not have adverse effects on haematological and serum biochemical indices.
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