Browsing by Author "Kitimu, Shedrack Reuben"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Effects of sweet potato leaves, roselle calyces and beetroot on body weight, selected hematological and biochemical parameters in broiler chicken
(Macrothink Institute, 2019) Max, Robert Arsen; Kitimu, Shedrack Reuben; Mshamu, Shaabani; Temba, Benigni Alfred; Muhairwa, Amandus P.
The study was conducted to assess the effects of sweet potato leaves, roselle calyces and beetroot tubers on body weight, selected hematological and biochemical parameters in broiler chickens. Eighty four (84) broiler chickens aged four weeks were randomly assigned into six groups of 14 chickens each. The first group (G0) remained as untreated control while the other groups were the treated groups which received 25% of ground sweet potato leaves (G1), rosella calyces (G2), beetroot tubers (G3) and their mixtures (G4 and G5) for 28 days. Following inclusion of these different vegetables, blood samples were collected and analyzed for selected hematological and biochemical parameters on day 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28. Results showed that consumption of the three vegetables caused significant decreases (p < 0.05) in body weight, serum glucose and cholesterol. On the other hand, hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume (PCV) and total white blood cell (WBC) counts were shown to increase significantly (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. It is concluded that the hypoglycemic and hypocholesteremic effects in chickens following consumption of the three vegetables together with their positive effects on PCV and WBC counts are important qualities which can be utilized in the management of conditions such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis and coronary disease) in humans. Further studies in other animals are recommended.
Implications of epigenetic variation during nodal micropropagation for substantive equivalence analysis: case study Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz)
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2014) Kitimu, Shedrack Reuben
Transgenic plants are rapidly being adopted in parts of the world as a result of increased food demand due to growing population and decrease in agricultural production following dramatic changes in environment. Transgenic crops are accepted for import for food and feeds use and for release into the environment in different countries in the world. For vegetative propagated plants, there is always a phytosanitary concern for international exchange of materials, which require the use of tissue culture as a means to produce virus free plantlets that can then be transported across international boundaries without presenting a quarantine hazard. Although in vitro propagation systems that are based on the use of micro cuttings are widely viewed as being analogous to field cuttings, much is not known about the possible epigenetic changes induced by this type of micropropagation. In this study, we survey for epigenetic changes during propagation by node culture and by field cuttings of five cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) varieties. Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles revealed by Methylation Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism (MSAP) uncovered consistent epigenetic differences between clonal materials recovered from in vitro nodes and from those produced from stem cuttings. Also, the observed epigenetic variance between different organs from the same plant was greater between tissues from field grown plants than that observed between organs secured from in vitro propagated plants. In this study we uncover differential methylation markers at several loci that could be implicated at organ differentiation and maturation in cassava. We explore the significance of these findings when seeking to predict potential effects to transgenic cassava when imported in tissue culture form and its consequences to the crop physiology and performance during field trials before it is proved substantially equivalent to their traditional local isogenic comparators. vi