Journal of Animal Production Advances

Haematological Reactions of Rabbit Bucks to the Intake of

Graded Levels of White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa)
Leaves (Plant with Ethno-Veterinary Importance) in the
Humid Tropics
Yahaya M. A., Ajuogu P. K. and Akinola L. A. F.

J Anim Prod Adv 2014, 4(3): 363-367

Online version is available on: www.grjournals.com

 ISSN: 2251-7677 AJUOGU ET AL.

Original Article

Haematological Reactions of Rabbit Bucks to the

Intake of Graded Levels of White Mangrove
(Laguncularia racemosa) Leaves (Plant with
Ethno-Veterinary Importance) in the Humid
Tropics
1
Yahaya M. A., 2Ajuogu P. K. and 2Akinola L. A. F.
1
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu Orowurukwu,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
2
Department of Animal Science and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B.5323 East West Road
Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Abstract
A study was conducted to investigate some haematological response of adult buck rabbits fed graded levels
of white mangrove (Longuculeria reacemosa) leaves. A twelve weeks feeding trial was conducted using
twenty-four adult buck rabbis. They were randomly allocated into four dietary treatments namely, A, (feed, free
of the additive plant), B, C and D had inclusion levels of 70g/kg, 80g/kg and 90g/kg. Randomized complete
Block Design (RCBD) was applied in this study and the bucks were kept in compartments of six rabbits per
group. Each group had three replicates with two rabbits per replicate. At the end of the feeding trial, some
haematological indices of the buck rabbits were investigated. Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in
the mean value of haemoglobin (HB), red blood cell (RBC), and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration
(MCHC) with groups C and D having slightly higher values, while the control (A), B and group D recorded
higher values of packed cell volume (PCV) than C. No significant effect (P>0.05) was observed on the mean
value of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) amongst the treatments. It was therefore concluded that up to
90g/kg of Languculeria recemosa inclusion rate can be used as enhancer in diet of buck rabbit with no adverse
effect.

Keywords: Hematology, buck rabbits, white mangrove, performance enhancer.


Corresponding author: Department of Animal Science and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B.5323 East West Road Choba, Port
Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Received on: 02 April 2013
Revised on: 28 Apr 2013
Accepted on: 23 May 2013
Online Published on: 27 March 2014
363 J. Anim. Prod. Adv., 2014, 4(3): 363-367
 HAEMATOLOGICAL REACTIONS OF RABBIT BUCKS TO THE …
Introduction
The worldwide shortage of animal protein
sources particularly in developing countries like
Africa has necessitated investigation of several
novel feed ingredient sources for possible
incorporation into animal feeds as replacements for
the expensive conventional sources. The acute
shortage of animal protein has been attributed to the
phenomenal rise in the prices of animal feeds which
accounts for about 70% in cost of production (1).
Cheap and viable interventions are needed for
adoption by livestock farmers to eliminate low
protein supplies in the developing/transition
economies. Also, feed resources in animal
production that reduces greenhouse emissions hold
a lot promise in mitigating climatic changes
globally.
Langularia racamosa is one of the easiest
tropical forest types to generate; they have the
ability to grow where no other vascular plants
could. Apparently, for a greater part of the year,
grass lands in the tropics do not supply sufficient
nutrient to livestock for adequate productivity (2).
Extracts and chemicals from mangroves are widely
used by mangrove dwellers for “bush medicine” for
man and livestock. The extraction of novel natural
chemical compounds by chemists, in addition to
those already known to the pharmacopoeia of the
people, continues to this day. Numerous mangroves
and mangal associates are used as folk medicine,
stariodal insecticidal and piscidal plants (3; 4).
Mangrove plants are a rich source of steroids,
triterpenes, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids and
tannins (5; 6; 7, 8; 9, 10).
.Direct herbivory of mangrove leaves, leaf
buds, and propagules is variable among different
countries. In some countries mangrove forests are
often used as grazing grounds for buffalo, cattle,
goats and sheep, and as an important source of
forage, for which the sprouts and young shoots of
Avicennia, Suaeda and Porteresia, remain
widespread in the Middle East and southern Asia,
for feeding camels, goats and sheep (12).
Feed additives are non-nutrients of biological,
mineral and medicinal sources used along with
other chemical agents in feeds to bring about
364
possible increase in production (13).They are
products used in animal nutrition for the purpose of
improving the quality of feeds or to improve animal
performance and health, and to provide enhanced
digestibility of feed materials. Examples are:
Mansonia altissima used as growth promoter (14)
and Alcohornea cordifolia effect on the gonad,
liver, and pancreas of broilers (15).
Rabbits eat vegetation in proportion to its
abundance (16). Rabbits had been seen foraging on
variety of grass, shrub and tree species, but have not
been seen eating the leaves or bark of trees. The
abundance of white mangrove (Langucularia
racemosa) in the humid tropics coupled with its
huge potentials as nutritional and economic plant
prompted the trial of this foliage to determine its
influence on some of the blood parameters of rabbit.
It had been reported that the physiological,
nutritional and pathological conditions of animals
are usually assessed, using haematological and
biochemical analyses of their blood (17, 18 and 19).
Blood profiling, initially used to detect subclinical
metabolic disorders due to incorrect feeding, has
recently been used more widely to evaluate the
effects of different treatments on metabolic,
nutritional and welfare conditions of animals (20). It
had also been stated that blood parameters are good
indicators of physiological, pathological and
nutritional status of an animal and changes in
haematological parameters have the potential of
being used to elucidate the impact of nutritional
factors and additives supplied in diet on any living
creature (21). According to (22), measuring the
concentration of haemoglobin in the blood can help
diagnose anaemia (a condition caused by a
deficiency of haemoglobin) while abnormally low
numbers of red blood cells may indicate anaemia as
a result of blood loss, bone marrow failure, and
malnutrition such as iron deficiency, over-
hydration, or mechanical damage to red blood cells.
They further reported that a low PCV or
haematocrit may indicate anaemia, blood loss, bone
marrow failure, leukaemia, multiple myeloma,
nutritional deficiency, over-hydration or rheumatoid
arthritis while high haematocrit may indicate
dehydration. Estimating the mean corpuscular
volume (MCV) is useful for determining the type of
anaemia a person might have while an estimate of
J. Anim. Prod. Adv., 2014,4(3): 363-367
 AJUOGU ET AL.
MCHC is a further guide to the investigation of
anaemia. Therefore this study was aimed at
assessing some haematological parameters of
rabbits exposed to the leaves of Langucularia
racemosa in their diet to predict its nutritional
relevance in livestock production.
Materials and Methods
Twenty four (24) adult New Zealand White and
Chinchilla buck rabbits weighting 1.5kg-2.0kg,
were used in this study that lasted for 64 days, with
two weeks serving as stabilization period. The
bucks were housed in the rabbitry section of the
Teaching and Research Farm of the Rivers State
University of Science and Technology, Port
Harcourt.
They were randomly allocated into four dietary
groups (A, B, C and D) in a Randomized complete
Blocks Design (RCBD). Six (6) rabbits were
allotted per treatment which comprised of three
replicates of two rabbits each. Bucks in group A
were used as the control, while treatments B, C and
D were fed diets mixed with the additive
Longuecularia racemosa at 70g/kg, 80g/kg and
90g/kg respectively.
Whole Longuecularia racemosa leaves were
harvested from Eagle Island in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State. They were oven dried in accordance
with the methods of (23) a commercial grinding
machine was used to grind the dried leaves into
powdery form for easy application. The powdered
Langucularia racemosa was weighed with Metter
Electro Balance Model EA 163 (electronic
weighing scale) into the required dosage.
Blood samples were collated from the ear vein,
with the aid of syringe and needle and decanted into
EDTA reinforced sample bottles, properly labeled
for identification.
They were immediately taken to University of
Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital for haematological
analysis according to (17). Data collected were
subjected to statistical Analysis using the Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) according to (22) and their
means compared using Duncan Multiple Range Test
(DMRT) of (23).
365 J. Anim. Prod. Adv., 2014, 4(3): 363-367
Results and Discussion
Haematological and biochemical indices of
animals may give some insight as to their
production performance. Their values are widely
used to determine systemic relationship and
physiological adaptations including the assessment
of the general health condition of animals. Various
reports (24, 25, and 26.) have documented
haematological and biochemical parameters of
domestic species in Nigeria, Disease diagnosis is
based on a recognized pattern to changes in one or
more blood analytes. The result revealed that there
were significant differences (P<0.05) due to
treatment effect on Hb, RBC MCHC with
treatments C and D having slightly higher values
which were statistically different from the control
(A) and B. The observed increase in mean values of
hemoglobin in treatments C and D demonstrated an
increase in the transportation of oxygen from the
lungs to the various body tissues. This may have
resulted from the impact of the test additive in
enhancing feed conversion efficiency. The normal
levels of RBC and MCHC in treatments A and B
and the slightly higher levels in C and D, although
significantly different, suggested the absence of
anaemia in the rabbits.
The significant difference (P<0.05) observed in
the PCV in which the control recorded superior
value which was statistically different from C but
not different from B and D showed that all the
rabbits in the treated groups had good health status,
since only an abnormally low PCV value can
indicate anemia. The result obtained was within the
normal range of 31 – 36% (27). It therefore
supported (26, 27) who established that high Packed
Cell Volume (PCV) and high haemoglobin content
(HB) were associated with high feed conversion
efficiency. The significant effect (P<0.05) observed
in MCV which showed that the control had superior
mean value which was statistically different from C
and D but not from B suggested that the inclusion of
the additive was best at 70g/kg feed. There was no
significant effects (P>0.05) in MCH between the
control and the other treatments.
 HAEMATOLOGICAL REACTIONS OF RABBIT BUCKS TO THE …

This showed that there was absence of and decrease in MCHC of rabbit above or below the
macrocytic and hypochromic anaemia. It supported normal range indicated macrocytic and
(29) who reported that any increase in MCV, MCH hypochromic anaemia.

Table 1: The additive effect of white mangrove plant on hematopoietic parameters of adult bucks.
Treatments
Parameters A (0g)Control B(70g) C(80g) D(90g) SEM
HB (g/L) 7.450+.25b 7.700+.30b 8.00+0.10a 8.400+0.10a 0.30
RBC (%) 12.50+0.25b 13.80+0.16b 14.30+0.10a 15.00+0.00a 0.25
a ab b
PCV (%) 35.00+0.10 34.00+0.30 33.00+0.30 34.00+0.00ab 0.15
MCV (cu. μ) 28.00 a
24.64 ab
23.07 b
22.67b 0.20
MCH (Pg) 5.96 5.58 5.59 5.60 0.10
MCHC (%) 21.29b 22.65b 24.24a 24.70a 0.01
Mean+ SEM in the same row with different superscript differs significantly (P < 0.05).

Conclusion saponins, flavonoids and alkaloids. Int. J. Crude

Based on the result obtained, it appeared that
the inclusion of Langucularia racemosa leaves in
diet for buck rabbit up to 90g/kg feed was adequate
as performance enhancer as there was no adverse
effect on haematological parameters. However,
70g/kg inclusion in feed can be used if the target is
to obtain same result with the control diet.
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