Dietary inclusion of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seed meal on the haematological and serum biochemical response of rams in southwestern Nigeria.

This study was carried out to determine the haematological and serum biochemical effect of rams fed graded levels of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seed meal. In a 77-days feeding trial, sixteen west African dwarf rams, of 12 months old, were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments (4 animals per each), with different inclusion levels of kenaf seed meal as replacement with sorghum glume and cassava pulp, at 0 (K0), 15 (K15), 35 (K35) and 55 (K55) % respectively. Each animal was fed 5% of its body weight/head/day of the experimental diets and elephant grass with clean drinking water ad libitum. Two animals from each treatment were randomly selected and blood samples collected aseptically, via the jugular puncture for haematological and biochemical evaluation, at the termination of the experiment. The analysis of blood components at the end of the feeding trial revealed that packed cell volume, white blood cell and haemoglobin showed significant (P < 0.05) differences among the rams with packed cell volume, white blood cell, while the haemoglobin was significantly decreased in K55 (27.00%, 3200 × 10 µL and 8.95 g/dL respectively) than in K0, K15 and K35. There were also significant (P < 0.05) differences in all the serum biochemical analysis except in the albumin. It was concluded that kenaf seed meal can be inculcated in the diet of rams up to 35% without any deleterious effect on their haematology and serum biochemical characteristics. Feeding of kenaf seed meal above 35% inclusion level resulted in negative alteration of the white blood cells which could lead to the loss of their protective system, thereby preventing rapid and potent defence against infectious diseases.