Tosicological assessment of Vernonia amygdaliana leaf meal in nutrition of starter broiler chicks

Abstract

In a 6-week feeding trial, Vernonia amygdaliana leaf meat (VaLM) was tested as a dietary ingredient\xa0in broiler starter diets. The diets comprised VaLM included at Og (diet 1), 50g per kg basal diet\xa0(incorporated at the expense of groundnut cake and wheat offals - diets 2 and 3 respectively) and 100g per kg basal diet (incorporated at the expense of groundnut cake - diet 4). During the study, parameters such as characteristics, blood parameters, histopathology of some organs (liver, kidney,\xa0lungs, heat, gizzard and pancreas) and carcass characteristics were investigated. Birds fed on\xa0VaLM - based diets performed poorly, the effects of the diet being more pronounced on those fed\xa0diet 4. Addition of VaLM to poultry feed significantly (P<0.05) reduced feed intake and weight gain\xa0of experimental birds. Blood cellular constituents decreased significantly (P<0.05) in birds fed\xa0VaLM - based diets and there were serious histopathological changes within the liver, kidney, lungs,\xa0heart, gizzard and pancreas. Keywords: Vernonia amygdaliana leaf meal, starter broiler performance, histopathology