Antioxidant and antinutritional potentials of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaf meal on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology of broiler chickens

Abstract A feed trial on seven hundred- and twenty-day old Cobb-500 strain broilers finisher chickens on substituting sweet potato leaf meal (SPLM) in broiler chicken diets was conducted. In a completely randomized design, the birds were allocated randomly to five (5) diets with 144 birds per treatment and divided into four replicates of thirty-six birds each. Treatment 1 was designated as the control (0% SPLM) while 3.75% SPLM, 7.5% SPLM, 11.25% SPLM and 15% SPLM serve as T2 – T5 respectively. Data were collected on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology which were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. The proximate analysis and phytochemicals in the leaf revealed significant amounts of constituents analysed. The birds blood indices, carcass and organs characteristics on experimental diets recorded significant (p > 0.05) effects on WBC, MCH, MCV, glucose and total cholesterol, live weight, plucked weight and dressed carcass weight values. Treatment 3 had superior carcass values in comparison to the other treatments. The histopathology results recorded significant (p > 0.05) effects at 15%SPLM on the heart and liver respectively but no tissue damage was recorded. Birds on 11.25kg and 15kg SPLM supplemented diets had higher levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (p 0.05) compared to other diets. Also, birds on SPLM supplements showed (p < 0.05) compared to the control. Conclusively, T3 revealed better carcass quality while 15 kg SPLM diet lowers the serum cholesterol concentration, improves the serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities of the chickens, and lowers the cholesterol in the meat.