An Evaluation of the Acceptability as Forage of Some Nutritive and Antinutritive Components and of the Dry Matter Degradation Profiles of Five Species of Ficus

Abstract

The suitability of five species of Ficus, F. mucoso, F. thonningii, F. polita, F. religiosa and F. benjamina, for feeding ruminant livestock was studied. The nutritive and antinutritive components were determined and the acceptability of the forages to livestock was assessed using a cafeteria method in 8 adult small ruminants. Also, the degradation potential of the dry matter of the five Ficus species was investigated using 3 fistulated sheep. The crude protein (CP) content of the Ficus species varied significantly (p < 0.05), ranging from 130 to 180 g/kg DM. The content of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) also varied significantly (p < 0.05), ranging from 650 to 710 g/kg DM. The organic matter (OM) contents did not differ significantly (p > 0.05), having a mean value of 916 g/kg DM. The concentrations of tannin, saponin, phytic acid and oxalic acid were low. The acceptability of the forage was similar for four of the species but poor for F. polita. The extent of DM degradation varied significant among the Ficus species, the ranking order being F. benjamina > F. thonningii > F. mucoso > F. religiosa > F. polita.

Chemical composition and in sacco ruminal degradation of tropical trees rich in condensed tannins

“…The CP values obtained from the leaves and fruits of non-leguminous trees in the present study were, however, lower than those reported for some leguminous browse species in south-west Nigeria (Larbi et al, 1998) and lower than the CP values obtained for Acacia species (Abdulrazak et al, 2000).These variations could be due to plant variety, agro climatic conditions, or even maturity stages at harvesting (Makkar and Becker, 1998;Bamikole et al, 2004). The chemical composition of tree leaves varies with the maturity of leaves and also with localities (Bamikole et al, 2004).…”

“…The chemical composition of tree leaves varies with the maturity of leaves and also with localities (Bamikole et al, 2004). Thus, the leaves of plant species analyzed here provide a good nutrient source for ruminant animal feed.…”

Effect of Feeding Some Evergreen Tropical Browse Plant Leaf on Blood Parameters of Growing Rabbits

“…The percentage components of anti-nutritional factors in this present study were low but comparable with the reports of [6], [28]. Among the antinutritional factors, the tannin content of 1.22, 2.34, 5.1 and 0.34 obtained in Ficcus thoningii, Vitex doniana, Daniela oliveri, and Sarcocephalus latifolia respectively were comparable to values (0.13 to 6.31%) reported previously by [19].…”

Phytochemistry, pharmacology and ethnomedicinal uses of Ficus thonningii (Blume moraceae): A review

“…The main groups of phytochemicals isolated from F. thonningii are: alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins and essential oils. Other phytochemicals: Other phytochemicals with antinutritional properties present in F. thonningii include phytate (130 mg/100 g DM) and oxalate (230 mg/100 g DM) (Bamikole et al, 2004). Despite the presence of these antinutritional factors, the leaves of F. thonningii still possess high feed value evidenced by their high palability and digestibility when used as fodder.…”