Citation of this paper

Growth performance of Yankasa sheep fed increasing levels of processed mango (Mangifera indica) fruits replacing maize bran

T A Ibrahim, M Jamilu, L O Agboola, S B Abdu, M R Hasaan and A I Kailani¹

Department of Animal Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria
taibrahim@abu.edu.ng
¹ College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna Nigeria

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect on growth performance of Yankasa sheep of feeding processed mango fruit (MF) as partial replacement for maize bran. The mangos were collected in the form of fruits rejected due to bruises, infection, abscission, or premature fall. Twelve Yankasa sheep, aged 9–13 months and 14–19 kg live weight, were allotted to four treatments (0, 12.5, 25, and 37.5% inclusion rates of MF) as DM in a Randomised Complete Block Design with three replicates per treatment. Weight gain, feed intake, nitrogen retention and feed conversion were improved with linear trends as the level of MF in the diets was increased. Digestibility coefficients for dry matter and crude fibre were increased by dietary inclusion of MF. It is concluded that processed (soaked/sundried) whole mango fruit can be included up to 37.5% in the diet of sheep as a replacement for maize bran with major improvement in growth performance without compromising the health status of the sheep.

Keywords: bypass protein, byproducts, feed conversion, health, tropical fruit

Introduction

Agriculture is a major supplier of food for people and livestock. This subsector of agriculture accounts for over 40% of total agricultural gross production worldwide (Mavrot 2016). However, the potential of animal production to meet the demand (Shime and Derso 2016) is under threat due to the projected doubling of the human population by the year 2050 (UN 2017). There is, therefore, the need to increase animal products to meet the demand of the increasing human population.

Poor animal nutrition among other challenges has been identified as a constraint to livestock production in most developing countries (Ibrahim et al 2016, 2018). In this regard, a key to sustainable livestock production is feed supply and efficient use of available feed resources including a reduction in wastage, and enlargement of the feed resource base through a quest for novel feed resources, particularly those not competing with human food. This necessitates the evaluation of the potential of some non-conventional feed resources that are cheaper, locally available, and have potential nutritional value (Ibrahim et al 2018).

Mango is an important fruit for food, juice, flavour, fragrance and colour. Both the ripe and unripe mango fruits contain minerals and essential vitamins such as antioxidant vitamins A, C and E; and B vitamins and polysaccharides such as fiber, starch and pectin that confer strong health benefits to both people and animals (Ajila and Prasada 2008). According to UNCTAD (2005), Nigeria occupies 8^th position in world mango production with 730,000 metric tonnes annually. A large number of mango fruits are produced annually with Nigeria occupying the 9^th position among the ten leading countries in the world, but with very little exported out of the country (FAOSTAT 2007). Because of this, there is a need to explore the use of mangos unfit for human consumption as a potential benefit to livestock production.

Non-edible mango fruits, peels and kernels are potential feed resources (Sruamsiri and Silman 2009; Ibrahim et al 2018). In Africa, and Nigeria particularly, these potentially employable by-products are used only at a very low level. Moreover, there are the aggravating facts that, the indiscriminate dumping and accumulation of residues in public places is contaminating water and soil resources leading to a consequent increase in disease vectors for the population which, therefore, makes it relevant to find sustainable ways to use these residues (Jedele et al 2003; Ibrahim and Yashim 2014).

Some researchers in the past and in recent times had evaluated the potential of incorporating mango fruits or mango by-products into livestock feed. Research has been carried out with pigs (Göhl 1982), poultry (Odunsi and Farinu 1997; Odunsi 2005; Diarra and Usman 2008), rabbits (Palma and Hurtado 2009) and ruminants (Sruamsiri and Silman 2009; Rêgo et al 2010; Azevêdo et al 2011; Sanon et al 2013; Ibrahim et al 2018; Omer et al 2019).

Ruminants have a distinct advantage of converting wastes such as mangos into products of high nutritive value for people. Sheep have the potential to bridge the supply-demand gap in animal food sources in the country (Bello and Tsado 2013) and need to be evaluated for the exploitation of mango fruit waste (MF). Sanon et al (2013) recommended that mango residues be further evaluated in a growth study, having studied the chemical composition of mango residues, voluntary feed intake, and digestibility in sheep. In our previous research (Ibrahim et al 2018), the nutritional potential and optimum feeding level of sun-dried MF mixed varieties were evaluated on Red Sokoto goats.

Therefore, this study aims to evaluate further the optimum inclusion levels and nutritive value of processed MF for growth, nutrient utilisation and blood metabolites of Yankasa sheep.

Materials and methods

Study site

The study was conducted at the Small Ruminant Unit of the Department of Animal Science, Teaching and Research Farm, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, which is located in the northern Guinea Savanna Zone of Nigeria, on latitude 11°14'44'' N and longitude 7°38'65'' E, at an altitude of 610 msl. The climate is relatively dry with an annual rainfall of 700–1400 mm occurring between April and September (Ovimaps 2016).

Collection and processing of mango fruits

The mangos used in this study were fallen fruits due to natural abscission, wind, and bruises from birds, and partially ripe and unripe mangos unfit for consumption during its season between April and early May. The mangos were of local varieties that are popularly known as “KamBiri” and “Yarkamaru” in the Hausa language. The whole mango fruits were chopped into smaller sizes (10-15 cm), then soaked in water in a 100 L plastic container for 24h and the water drained away every 24 h and refilled with fresh water for a total period of 96 h. The soaked mango fruits were sun-dried for two weeks.

Experimental design and management of animals

TwelveYankasa sheep aged 9–13 months, weighing 14–19 kg were allotted to four dietary treatments (0, 12., 25 and 37.5% of diet DM) in a Randomised Complete Block Design with three replicates per treatment. The sheep were initially given prophylactic treatments consisting of the intramuscular application of Oxytetracycline and Vitamin B complex. The sheep were also drenched with 1 ml/10 kg of body weight with Albendazole, and at 1 ml/10 kg of body weight with Ivomectin for treatment against endo- and ecto-parasites. The sheep were also vaccinated against PPR (PestdesPetits Ruminants). They were ear-tagged for identification and quarantined for four weeks.

Weight gain and digestibility study

At the commencement of the growth study, each animal was weighed, and then followed by fortnightly weighing until the end of the eight-week trial. The sheep were fed a total mixed ration at 3.5% (DM) of their body weight; water was given without restriction. The weight gain of each animal was evaluated as the difference between the accumulated weight and the initial weight. Each animal was later housed in individual metabolic crates for total fecal and urine collection. The sheep had seven days to adjust to the condition of the metabolism crates, followed by seven days of feces and urine collection. During the 7-day digestibility study, the daily faecal output was quantified (amount of fresh matter); 10 g of the homogenised fresh faeces were sub-sampled daily and oven-dried at 105 °C for 18 h for dry matter determination. The daily urine was collected into a plastic container placed under the metabolic crates and containing 100 ml of 0.1 N H₂SO4 to prevent loss of nitrogen. The collected urine was strained through a layer of glass wool to remove detached hair fragments and other solid contaminants. A 10% aliquot of the total daily urine outgo of each animal was stored in a refrigerator at 4 °C for nitrogen determination (Osuji et al 1993). All the aliquots per animal were pooled after the experimental period for nitrogen assay.

Sampling and analysis of blood

A blood sample from each animal was taken from the jugular vein at the end of the experiment; 5 ml into a sterile test tube for serum preparation and 5 ml into ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulant for determination of haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, and eosinophils according to standard methods (Coles 1986). The blood in EDTA anticoagulant bottles was immediately inserted in ice containers. RBC count was done in a haemocytometer chamber with Natt and Herdrics diluents to obtain a 1:200 blood dilution. The number of leucocytes was estimated as total WBC×200; PCV was determined as micro haematocrit with 75×16mm capillary tubes filled with blood and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes. The differential count of leucocytes was obtained from blood stained with Wrights dye and the neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte and eosinophil cells were counted with a laboratory counter while the Hb concentration was also calculated.

The proximate analysis of experimental diets, feces, and MF was conducted according to standard methods of AOAC (2005). The residual dry matter of the samples was determined by oven-drying at 105 °C for 18 h. Nitrogen was determined by the micro Kjeldahl method with Tecator Product apparatus (KjeltecTM2100). The Soxhlet extraction procedure was used for the analysis of crude fat (ether extract) using electromantle ME. The ash was measured by combustion of the dried material in a muffle furnace at 600 °C for 8 h. Crude fibre, sequential neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) were determined using Tecator Line (FT 122 FibertecTM) according to the method described by Van Soest and Wine (1967). The concentration of phytic acid was determined according to Wheeler and Ferrel (1971). A standard curve of ferric nitrate was plotted. Phytate phosphorus was calculated from the standard curve assuming a 4:6 Fe to P molar ratio. The concentration of total tannins present in MFWM was determined colorimetrically as described in AOAC (2005), whereby tannic acid was adopted as a reference standard. The total alkaloid and saponin were quantified using colorimetry AOAC 2005).

Statistical analysis and model

Data were subjected to statistical analysis using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of SAS 9.0 software (SAS 2002). Duncan’s Multiple Range Test was used to determine the significance of differences between the means. The statistical model was Y_ij = µ + t_i + Ɛ _ij, Where: Y_ij = response variable, µ = overall mean, t_i = effect of i^th treatment (i = 0, 12.5, 25, 37.5%), Ɛ_ij = random error.

Results

Ingredient and chemical composition of experimental diets

The diets (Tables 1 and 2) were formulated with graded levels of MF as a replacement for maize bran in a total mixed ration. The chemical composition of MF in this study walls comparable to the previous finding (Ibrahim et al 2018). The crude protein levels recorded by Sanon et al (2013) for mango peel (6.70%) and mango kernel (7.00%) were comparable to those in the current study. The total tannin of 4.00% in mango kernel reported by Sanon et al (2013) contrasts with the 1.80% recorded for mango fruit in our study. This indicates that the tannins are present mainly in the kernel.

Table 1. Ingredient composition and calculated analysis of dietary treatments (% in DM)
Ingredient, %	% mango meal in the diets
Ingredient, %	0	12.5	25	37.5

Maize bran	40.0	27.5	12.5	0.00
Cotton seed cake	24.0	25.0	27.5	27.5
Palm kernel cake	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00
Soybean bran	2.00	2.00	2.00	2.00
Rice bran	28.0	27.0	27.0	27.0
Mango fruit meal	0.00	12.5	25.0	37.5
Bone meal	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50
Common salt	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50
Total	100	100	100	100
Calculated analysis, %
Crude protein	12.8	12.6	12.5	12.1
Crude fibre	19.9	19.0	19.5	17.8
Ether extract	4.66	4.17	3.72	3.23

Table 2. Chemical analysis of experimental diets, MO and soaked/sundried MF
Parameters, %	% mango meal in the diets				MF	MB
Parameters, %	0	12.5	25	37.5	MF	MB

Dry matter	90.3	91.2	90.0	89.9	93.6	88.4
Crude Protein	11.6	12.1	11.5	11.3	7.69	11.2
Crude Fibre	5.70	8.15	7.11	10.3	5.17	10.5
Ether Extract	4.66	4.17	3.72	3.23	2.04	4.31
Ash	7.40	5.35	7.37	5.76	2.14	7.17
Nitrogen Free Extract	70.6	70.3	70.3	69.5	83.0	66.8
Acid Detergent Fiber	44.3	43.1	45.7	45.1	32.9	48.2
Neutral Detergent Fiber	55.9	54.1	56.2	56.0	48.4	59.4
MF Mango fruit meal; MB Maize bran

Growth performance

The inclusion of MF in the diet did not affect feed intake (Table 3) but supported linear improvements in live weight gain and feed conversion (Figures 1 and 2)

Table 3. Growth performance of Yankasa sheep fed diets containing varying levels of soaked and sundried mango fruits
Parameters	Level of mango fruit, %				SEM	p
Parameters	0	12.5	25	37.5	SEM	p

Initial weight, kg	17.7	17.7	17.8	17.7	1.06	0.10
Final weight, kg	20.3	21.4	21.8	22.8	1.89	0.66
Daily weight gain, g	68.1	96.3	98.4	130	21.2	0.16
Feed intake, g/d	552	572	580	584	42.1	0.97
Feed conversion#	8.21	6.46	5.97	4.54	1.06	0.17
#Feed intake/live weight gain


Figure 1. Effect of proportion of mango fruit in the diet on live weight gain in sheep	Figure 2. Effect of proportion of mango fruit in the diet on feed conversion in sheep

Digestibility and N retention

Coefficients of apparent digestibility tended to show increased values as the proportion of mango fruit in the diet was increased with the highest values for diets with 37.5% of mango fruit meal (Table 4)

Table 4. Nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilisation of Yankasa sheep fed diets containing different inclusion levels of soaked and sun-dried MF
Parameters, %	Level of mango fruit, %				SEM	p
Parameters, %	0	12.5	25	37.5	SEM	p

Dry matter	68.7^b	69.4^b	68.6^b	85.0^a	1.84	0.03
Crude protein	64.7	61.4	70.3	77.5	3.62	0.27
Ether extract	97.3^a	94.9^a	83.6^b	96.6^a	3.99	0.02
Crude fibre	53.5^b	58.1^b	53.8^b	77.5^a	2.30	0.03
Nitrogen balance, g/d
Intake	24.1	24.7	24.7	25.0	0.85	0.63
Feces	6.45^a	6.38^a	6.02^a	3.96^b	0.28	<0.01
Urine	2.39	2.34	2.12	2.21	0.20	0.84
Retention	15.3	16.1	16.7	18.9	1.99	0.09
^ab Means within the same row without common superscript differ at p <0.05

N retention was increased linearly as the proportion of mango fruit in the diet was increased (Figure 3) and, as expected, showed a close relationship with live weight gain (Figure 4).


Figure 3. Effect of proportion of mango fruit in the diet on N retention in sheep	Figure 4. Relationship between N retention and live weight gain in sheep fed increasing proportions of mango fruit

Haematological parameters

Supplementing the diet with mango meal had no effect on the haematological indices apart from packed cell volume which tended to decrease with increasing inclusion levels of MF.

Table 5. Haematological parameters of Yankasa sheep fed diets containing different inclusion levels of soaked and sun-dried MF
Parameters	level of mango fruit, %				SEM	p	Ref value
Parameters	0	12.5	25	37.5	SEM	p	Ref value

Pack cell volume, %	37.0^a	25.7^c	32.3^b	29.3^bc	2.03	0.05	20-45
Haemoglobin, g/100ml	5.90	6.23	5.00	6.33	0.55	0.16	7-15
Red blood cell, g/100ml	5.72	5.61	6.03	5.27	0.29	0.50	8-12
White blood cell, × 10³/mm³	7.67	6.47	7.50	8.30	5.19	0.23	5.0-14.5
Neutrophil, %	53.7	44.3	62.7	42.3	6.62	0.29	10-50
Lymphocytes, %	44.0	51.7	35.0	55.3	6.00	0.25	40-75
Monocytes, %	0.00	0.67	0.33	0.33	0.25	0.49	0-1
Eosinophils, %	2.33	3.33	2.00	2.00	1.36	0.92	1-7
^abc Means within the same row without common superscript differ at p<0.05

Discussion

The positive effects of mango meal on growth rate and feed conversion in Yankasa sheep corroborate positive results of Silva et al (2016) from feeding mango meal as a replacement for maize in diets of dairy goats. Diet digestibility was highest with the maximum level (37.5%) of mango meal in the diet however, there were no benefits in digestibility at the lower levels of mango meal. A more likely explanation is the effect of the tannins in the mango kernels reacting with the dietary protein to increase the escape (“bypass”) of protein from the rumen for more efficient enzymic digestion in the intestines (Preston and Leng 1987; Barry and McNabb 1999).

Conclusions

Live weight gain and feed conversion were linearly improved with an increase in the level of inclusion of mango meal in the range of 0 to 37.5% of the diet.
Digestibility coefficients for dry matter and crude fibre and nitrogen retention were increased by the inclusion of mango meal in the diet.
It is concluded that processed (soaked/sundried) whole mango fruit can be included in diets up to 37.5% levels as a replacement for maize bran for improved growth performance without compromising the health status of the sheep.

Acknowledgments

We are sincerely grateful to the technical staff in the Biochemical Laboratory Center of Excellence and all the staff at the Small Ruminant unit research farm of the Department of Animal Science, for their remarkable technical support during the research.

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