Proximate Analysis and Mineral Composition of Selected Root Crops as a Source of Energy in Poultry Diets

Abstract

In the pursuit of high-quality alternative sources of energy in poultry diets, the locally available root crops Cyrtosperma merkusii and Dioscoreae hispida were studied to ascertain their proximate nutritional and a few mineral values. The C. merkusii and D hispida tubers were collected from swamps and secondary forests of the municipalities of Mainit and Alegria, Surigao del Norte, Philippines. Tubers were processed and analyzed in triplicates by procedures of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2002) in the determination of Moisture Content, CP, Crude Fiber, Crude Fat, Ash, NFE, calcium, and phosphorus. The result showed that C. merkusii was significantly (P < 0.05) highest 5.90% compared to D. hispida 4.38% CP. The calculated M.E. was 2,635.58 Kcal/kg C. merkusii and 2,304.29 Kcal/kg D. hispida and crude fiber was 7.15% for C. merkusii while 2.76% for D. hispida tuber. However, the crude fat and ash were significantly lesser in C. merkusii (0.06% & 4.82%) over D. hispida (0.24% & 9.57%) respectively. Moreover, other significant value results of C. merkusii versus D. hispida were; MC (13.91 vs. 19.61), NFE (66.12 vs. 63.44), calcium (0.50 vs. 0.30) while potassium was not significant (P > 0.05). The herein result implied that C. merkusii and D. hispida of Surigao del Norte was a good source of crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, ash, nitrogen-free extract, metabolizable energy, calcium, and phosphorus an ideal alternative sources of energy for the formulation of good quality and well-balanced diets for poultry feeding.