Daily andalternate days upplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal or soyabean meal to lambs receiving oat hay

Abstract

Wehypothesizedthat Moringaoleifera foliagewhichishighincrudeproteinandalmostfreein
mainsecondarycompoundscouldreplacesoyabeanmealusedinsupplementationstrategies
of livestock.Therefore,thisexperimentaimedtoevaluatetheeffectofdailyandalternateday
supplementationofMoringaleafmeal(MLM)orsoybeanmeal(SBM)tosheeponintakeand
digestionandglucose,proteinandureainbloodplasma.TwentyBarbarinemalelambs
(averageinitialbodyweight,27.373.0kg),wererandomlydividedintofourgroupsoffive
lambseach.Theywereadaptedfor22daystodietarytreatmentsbeforestartinga6-daytotal
collectionperiod.Allanimalsconsumedoathay ad libitum supplementedwithconcentrates
composed ofbarleygrainonly(C-BAR)ormixedwithSBM(C-SBM),orMLM(C-MLM)as
proteinsources.Groups1and2receiveddailyC-SBMandC-MLM,respectively.However,
groups3and4hadaccesstoconcentratescontainingtheproteinsources(C-SBMandC-MLM)
withalternatedaythatmeanstheyreceivedforonedaytheseconcentratesandinthe
followingdaytheyreceivedbarleygrainonly(C-BAR).SoybeanmealandMLMincorporationin
concentrateshadsimilareffects(P40.05)onwater,hay,anddigestibleorganicmatter(OM)
intakes andDM,organicmatter(OM)andneutral detergentfiber(NDF)digestibility.Daily
substitution ofSBMbyMLMincreased(P¼0.024)crudeprotein(CP)intakeandapparenttotal
tractdigestibility.However,thealternatedaysupplementationdecreasedapparenttotaltract
CP digestibilitybutincreasedCPintakefor SBM treatment.Theconcentrationofruminal
ammonianitrogenbeforefeedingwashigher(P¼0.012)ingroups1and3thanintheother
groups.Theconcentrationofbloodglucosewassimilar(P40.05)amongtreatments.However,
lambsreceivingC-SBMexhibitedhighestconcentrationsofprotein(P¼0.039)andurea
(P¼0.001)intheblood.ItisconcludedthatMLMadministeredattwoday-intervalshad
similareffectsonfeedintake,digestionandbloodmetabolitestoSBMincorporatedin
concentratedistributedtosheepreceivingoathay