Develop feeding strategies for moringa oleifera and leucaena leucocephala as protein sources in tilapia diets
Loading...
Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Digestibility and feeding trials were performed to evaluate Moringa oleifera and Leucaena leucocephala
leaf meals as protein sources (compared to soybean meal) in Nile tilapia diets. Both leaf meals were
obtained from Tanzania. The leaf meals were soaked in water to reduce anti-nutritional factors, dried, and
ground to a small particle size before incorporation into diets. Five diets were made for both trials: the
control diet contained 50% soybean meal (SOY), and diets 15 MOR and 30 MOR were made by
substituting 15 and 30% of the soybean protein with Moringa protein. Diets 15 LEU and 30 LEU were
made by substituting 15 and 30% of the soybean protein with Leucaena protein. For the digestibility trial,
diets containing 32% crude protein were used. Diets with 36% protein were used for the feeding trial due
to the small initial fish size. The digestibility trial was carried out using mixed sex Nile tilapia of 200-400
g in 150-L indoor tanks in a recirculating system with dechlorinated municipal water maintained at 28 0 C.
Other water quality parameters were kept at optimum levels for Nile tilapia. Fish were conditioned to the
experimental diets and the fecal removal process (fresh, floating feces were collected with a net) for 1
week. Fecal collection was conducted 8-10 hours after the last meal in the evening, as well as the next
morning before feeding. The fecal samples were dried at 50 0 C for 12 hours and then frozen until analysis.
The apparent protein digestibility (APD, mean+SE, %) of the SOY diet (86.35±0.87) was higher than all
others. The APD of the 15 MOR (84.69±0.59) and 30 MOR (83.34±1.10) diets were similar to each other
and higher than the APD of the 15 LEU (78.49±0.91) and 30 LEU (74.70±0.52) diets. The APD of 30
LEU was also lower than that of the 15 LEU diet. Overall, leaf meals reduced protein digestibility
compared to soybean meal, but diets containing Moringa were digested better than those containing
Leucaena. There was no difference in the apparent lipid digestibility (%) of the SOY (95.83±0.34) and 15
MOR (95.19±0.62) diets. Lipid digestibility of the SOY diet was higher than that of 30 MOR
(92.99±1.17), 15 LEU (94.46±0.06), and 30 LEU (92.98±0.24) diets. Lipid digestibility of the 30 MOR
and 30 LEU diets was lower than that of the other diets. Both protein and lipid digestibility were inversely
related to concentration of dietary fiber. For the feeding trial, 100 mixed-sex Nile tilapia, averaging 5.16 g
individually were stocked in 1500-L outdoor circular plastic tanks supplied with reservoir water. The tanks were maintained as static systems except for periodic flushing when water quality parameters fell
below the optimum for Nile tilapia. Subsamples of 30-50 fish were weighed every two weeks and water
quality parameters were monitored weekly. The trial was terminated after 60 days. There were no
differences in growth, feed conversion, survival, lysozyme, or proteolytic enzyme activity among
treatments. Proximate and fatty acid composition of whole fish is still in progress.
Description
Technical Report
Keywords
Tilapia Diets, Protein Sources, Leucaena Leucocephala, Moringa Oleifera, Feeding Strategies