Evaluation of Anthelmintic Attributes of Moringa and Bamboo Leaves in Gastrointestinal Nematode-Infested West African Dwarf Goats

Abstract

The anthelmintic attributes of moringa and bamboo leaves were evaluated using 18 gastrointestinal nematode-infested West African Dwarf goats (nine males and nine females; mean weight = 9.5 ± 0.5 kg) in a 12-week growth trial with groundnut hay as the reference diet in a complete randomized design. Condensed tannins of moringa and bamboo leaves were quantified. Feed intake, weight changes, feed conversion ratios, faecal egg counts and packed cell volumes of the goats were monitored. The animals were thereafter slaughtered for gastrointestinal worm counts, and carcass characterization.

Condensed tannins were absent in bamboo leaves while they constituted 0.1% of moringa leaves. There were no (P>0.05) dietary effects on dry matter intakes, but significant (P<0.05) dietary effects on crude protein intakes, average daily weight gains, warm carcass weights and dressing percentages were observed. Moringa-substitution of groundnut hay produced a significant (P<0.05) reduction in feed conversion ratio (18.0 vs. 27.4 g feed/g live-weight gain) while bamboo-substitution led to a significant (P<0.05) increase (45.7 vs. 27.4 g feed/g live-weight gain). The final mean faecal egg counts were between 334 - 384 eggs/g of faeces/animal, representing a drop of at least 65%, but were not (P>0.05) affected by dietary treatments. The mean worm burden pattern after slaughter indicated mixed infestations with significant (P<0.05) diet, gastrointestinal region and interactive effects.

Bamboo and moringa leaves contained no condensed tannins of anthelmintic or nutritional significance. However, complementing groundnut hay, the feed resource of choice in The Gambia, with moringa foliage (50:50 ratio), could play prominent roles in small ruminant control programmes, as it appears promising in improving resilience of West African Dwarf goats to the negative effects of gastrointestinal nematode infections and maintaining productivity under the parasitic challenge, through improved supply of crude protein to the infested animals.

Keywords: Anthelimintic, Moringa oleifera, Bamboo leaves, Groundnut hay, gastrointestinal nematodes, West African Dwarf goats.