WILLIAMS ADEDOTUN GABRIEL

Agriculture

At the Agriculture department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Metabolizable Energy, And Intestinal Morphology Of Growing Turkeys Fed Diet Supplemented With Arginine

Description: 8-wk feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Arg on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, metabolisable energy, and intestinal morphology of growing turkeys. A total of one hundred and eighty 56-d-old male grower turkeys were weighed individually and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 dietary29 treatments with 6 replicate pens and 10 turkeys per pen in a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments consisted of basal diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, and 1.0 g Arg/kg. Growth response was measured during the grower (d 56 to 84) and finisher (d 84 to 112) phases, while nutrient digestibility, metabolizable energy, and intestinal morphology were measured at d 84 and 112. Arginine supplementation had no effect on growth response during the grower phase. During the finisher phase, feed conversion ratio decreased initially as Arg supplementation increased from 0 to 0.5 g/kg, but it increased with the 1.0 g Arg/kg (quadratic, P = 0.028). At d 84, grower turkeys fed diets supplemented with 1.0 g Arg/kg had greater (linear, P < 0.001) apparent dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract digestibility. At d 84, greatest apparent metabolizable energy, nitrogen corrected apparent metabolisable energy, and true metabolizable energy values were obtained with grower turkeys fed diet supplemented with 0.5 g Arg/kg (quadratic, P < 0.001). At d 84, duodenum, and ileum villus height in grower turkeys increased linearly, and quadratically (P < 0.001) with increasing Arg supplementation. Dietary supplementation with Arg reduced the apical widths in duodenum (linear, P = 0.003; quadratic, P < 0.001), jejunum (linear and quadratic, P < 0.001), and ileum (linear, P = 0.010; quadratic, P = 0.004) of grower turkeys. At d 112, jejunum villus height (quadratic, P = 0.042), and ileum villus height (linear, P = 0.022; quadratic, P = 0.042) of finisher turkeys increased, while duodenum apical widths reduced (quadratic, P = 0.033) with increasing Arg supplementation. In conclusion, Arg supplementation showed a linear improvement in nutrient digestibility of grower turkeys at d 84, increased nutrient absorption n grower, and finisher turkeys as indicated by increased intestinal villus height at d 84, and 112. Furthermore, dietary supplementation with 0.5 g Arg/kg promoted a quadratic improvement in feed conversion ratio of finisher turkeys, and metabolizable energy values of grower turkeys at d 84

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	Ph.D (Monogastric Animal Nutrition)	Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta	2019

Effect of aqueous unripe pawpaw fruit extract (UPE) inclusion in drinking water on the blood lipid profile of broiler chickens

Introduction

The use of plant-derived extracts in poultry production has gained attention due to their potential to improve health status, particularly by modulating lipid metabolism and enhancing meat quality.

Aims/Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of aqueous unripe pawpaw extract (UPE) administered via drinking water on the serum lipid profile of broiler chickens.

Methodology

A total of 128-day-old Ross broiler chickens were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments: T1 (control – ordinary water), T2 (antibiotics), T3 (100 ml/L UPE), and T4 (200 ml/L UPE). Each treatment had four replicates with eight birds per replicate. Blood samples were collected from three birds per treatment for serum lipid analysis. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA in SAS (2009), and means were separated using Tukey’s test.

Expected Results

UPE supplementation is expected to improve lipid profile by reducing serum triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and cholesterol levels, indicating better physiological and metabolic status.

Contribution to Knowledge/Society

This study demonstrates the potential of unripe pawpaw extract as a natural alternative to antibiotics in poultry production. Its ability to improve lipid profile suggests enhanced meat quality and health benefits, supporting sustainable and safer animal production systems.

 

WILLIAMS GABRIEL is a Lecturer I at the Department of Agriculture

WILLIAMS has a Ph.D in Monogastric Animal Nutrition from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta