Home > Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Indian Major Carps Fingerlings Fed Citric Acid Supplemented Moringa Leaf Meal and Moringa Seed Meal Based Diets
Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Indian Major Carps Fingerlings Fed Citric Acid Supplemented Moringa Leaf Meal and Moringa Seed Meal Based Diets
This investigation studied the supplementation effect of citric acid (CA) to Moringe oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) and Moringe oleifera seed meal (MOSM) based diets on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, mineral utilization, carcass proximate composition and hematology of Indian major carps (IMCs) fingerlings. Moringa leaves and moringa seeds were used as main test ingredients to formulate MOLM and MOSM based experimental diets, respectively. Each experimental diet was sub-divided into six test diets supplemented with different levels of CA (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%). Ten fingerlings of each species viz. Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala were stocked separately in water tanks and were used in triplicate for each treatment. The fingerlings were provided with feed at the rate of 5% of live wet weight. The duration of the trial was 90-days. The results revealed that supplementation of CA in MOLM and MOSM based diets significantly (p˂ 0.05) improved overall growth performance, nutrient digestibility, mineral utilization, carcass proximate composition and hematological indices of IMCs fingerlings compared to control diets (diet with no CA supplementation). Comparison of means showed that supplementation of CA at 3% level in MOLM and MOSM based diets caused significant improvement in growth performance, nutrient digestibility, mineral utilization, carcass proximate composition and hematological indices of IMCs fingerlings compared to other CA levels in most cases. In conclusion, CA acidified MOLM and MOSM based diets are recommended for better growth performance, nutrient digestibility, mineral utilization, body proximate composition and hematological indices of IMCs fingerlings.