Growth, haematology and serum biochemistry of african catfish <i>clarias gariepinus</i> fed diets containing mixture of processed moringa (<i>moringa oleifera</i>) leaf and kernel meal

Abstract

The potential of blending soaked moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf and fermented moringa
kernel as a substitute for fishmeal in the diet for Clarias gariepinus was investigated. The
leaves were soaked overnight while the seeds were defatted and subsequently fermented
with Rhizopus stolonifer. Four approximately isonitrogenous (40 % crude protein) and
iso-energetic (20 kJ/g) diets were formulated to contain graded levels (0, 20, 40 and 60
%) of mixture (1:1) of soaked leaf and fermented kernel of moringa. The diets were fed
to triplicates group of C. gariepinus (average weight, 8.87 ± 0.02 g) for 56 days. Growth
performance in terms of weight gain and specific growth rate in the group that received
control diet was significantly higher (p<0.05) than those that were reared on diets
containing 40 and 60 % mixture of soaked moringa leaf and fermented kernel but
statistically similar (p>0.05) to the group fed with 20% of the mixture. The feed
conversion ratio was statistically similar (p>0.05) in the control and dietary treatments.
The haematological profile of the control group was similar (p>0.05) to all other
treatment groups in all the parameters examined; suggesting that there were no
deleterious health effects arising from incorporation of processed moringa leaf and
kernel in the diets for C. gariepinus.

Keywords: Clarias gariepinus, Moringa leaf and kernel, Growth performance, Nutrient utilization