Effects of Vernonia amygdalina leaf meal on male hormone and reproductive organ weight of Thryonomys swinderianus
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Date
2020-02-29
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Publisher
Nigerian Society for Experimental Biology
Abstract
Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) feeds mainly on green plants especially those with succulent
stems. Vernonia amygdalina the most prominent species and one of the tropical tribes of the family Asteraceae, it is
so unique that every part of it has an economic importance and has been shown to be valuable nutritionally. The aim
of the experiment was to determine the effect of administering Vernonia amygdalina leaf diets on testis weight and
reproductive hormones of grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus). A total of eighteen male weaner grasscutters
weighing between 281.33g and 304.21g were allotted to six treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD).
The animals in treatment A (control) were given feed without Vernonia amygdalina (VA) leaf meal, B had 1g
VA/kg feed, C had 2g VA/ kg feed, D had 3g VA/kg feed, E had 4g VA/kg feed and F had 5g VA/kg feed. Feeding
was done for a period of seven (7) weeks and at the end of the experiment, two animals were selected per treatment
after starving for about 10hours, sedated with diethylether soaked in cotton –wool and placed close to nostril to
reduce handling stress before slaughtering by severing the carotid artery and the jugular vein. Blood was collected
into plain bottles, centrifuged at 500rpm for 5minutes to obtain serum for hormonal tests. The hormones tested for
were luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, oetrogen and testosterone. The penis and testis were
weighed and recorded after excision and removal of adhering fats. Data collected were subjected to analysis using
SAS 2008 model and mean differences separated with Tukey studentized range test. The reproductive hormones and
testis weights were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the Vernonia amygdalina inclusions. It showed that Treatment
F had the highest luteinizing hormone while treatment A had the lowest. Treatment D had the highest follicle
stimulating hormone while treatment E had the lowest. Treatment A had the highest oestrogen level while treatment
B had the lowest. Treatment A had highest testosterone while treatment B had the lowest. It was observed that the
addition of Vernonia amygdalina leaf meal as feed supplement of grasscutter had no adverse effect on their
reproductive parameters as could be observed from the reproductive organ weight and reproductive hormone values
of the animal.
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Keywords
Organ, hormone, Vernonia amygdalina, Thryonomys swinderianus, Grasscutter
Citation
Okukpe, K. M., Ajayi, A. S., Adeyina, A. O., Sanni, K. M., Adeyemo, A. D., Lawal, M.O., DeCampos, J.S. & Ajao, B. H. (2020): Effects of Vernonia amygdalina leaf meal on male hormone and reproductive organ weight of Thryonomys swinderianus. Bioscience Research Journal, 32(1): 37 - 42.