Evaluation of nutritional quality of moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) leaves as an alternative protein source for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.)
Introduction
Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of world human food production and has an annual increase of about 10% (FAO, 1997). To sustain such a high rate of growth, a matching increase in fish feed production is imperative (Francis et al., 2001a). On the other hand, the high cost and fluctuating quality of fish meal as well as its uncertain availability (Alceste, 2000) have led to the need to identify alternative protein sources for fish feeds. Considerable emphasis has been focused on the use of conventional plant protein sources, such as soybean Jackson et al., 1982, Sadiku and Jauncey, 1995, groundnut (Jackson et al., 1982), cottonseed Jackson et al., 1982, El-Sayed, 1990 and rapeseed meal (Jackson et al., 1982). However, their scarcity and competition from other sectors for such conventional crops for livestock and human consumption as well as industrial use make their costs too high and put them far beyond the reach of fish farmers or producers of aquafeeds (Fasakin et al., 1999). Therefore, in order to attain a more economically sustainable, environmentally friendly and viable production, research interest has been directed towards the evaluation and use of unconventional protein sources, particularly from plant products such as seeds, leaves and other agricultural by-products Olvera-Novoa et al., 1988, El-Sayed, 1999, Siddhuraju and Becker, 2001. Ogino et al. (1978) showed that the inclusion of a protein concentrate derived from rye grass leaves of up to 43% of total protein for common carp and 40% for rainbow trout, respectively, had beneficial effects on the growth performance as compared to a control diet. The use of leaf protein concentrate as a potential dietary feed ingredient has also been evaluated with regard to tropical and subtropical plant leaves. Olvera-Novoa et al. (1990) showed that 35% replacement of fish meal with purified alfalfa protein concentrate had no adverse effect on Mossambique tilapia. Successful replacement of 25% processed (soaked) Leucaena leaf meal has also been reported for Nile tilapia (Wang and Wee, 1987). However, only limited information is available on the utilisation prospects of foliages directly as alternative or additional protein sources as fish feed.
Moringa oleifera Lam., a member of the family Moringaceae, is a fast-growing plant widely available in the tropics and subtropics with great economic importance for the food and medical industry Becker and Makkar, 1999, Foidl et al., 2001. The seeds are a rich oil and protein source and can also be used for the purification of water. The roots are a source of spices. The leaves are rich in carotenoids, ascorbic acid and iron (Siddhuraju and Becker, unpublished data). Although the leaves and pods are widely recognised as a food source for humans and a dry season feed for animals (Makkar and Becker, 1997), there is no information regarding the utilisation of moringa leaves in fish feed. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the suitability of moringa leaves as a partial protein replacement for fish meal (10%, 20% and 30% replacement of total dietary protein) in practical diets for Nile tilapia based on its effects on growth performance and body composition.
Section snippets
Experimental setup and fish
A group of 210 Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings (8–13 g) reared at the University of Göttingen (Germany) were transferred to Hohenheim University, and kept in 200-l tanks to be acclimatised. They were fed at around maintenance energy requirement with a standard diet containing approximately 40% protein, 10% lipid, 10% ash and a gross energy content of 20 kJ g−1 dry matter. After 1 week, 84 fish were randomly selected and divided into 12 groups of seven fish (9–11 g), each of
Feed quality
The proximate and amino acid composition as well as the antinutrient content of feed ingredients and diets are presented in Table 1, Table 3, respectively. The crude lipid content of moringa leaf meal is conspicuously high (10.6%) and is comparable to that of fish meal (11.8%), whereas the levels of crude protein and ash (25% and 8.4%, respectively) are lower than those of fish meal (70.6% and 15.7%, respectively). Relatively high concentrations of NDF (15.9%) and ADF (12.6%) in moringa leaves
Discussion
The results obtained in the present study show that the performance of the fish fed with higher levels of moringa (20% and 30% of protein base) was inferior to those of fish fed with the control diet (Diet 1) and the diet containing 10% moringa leaf meal (Diet 2). The significantly higher FCR value in Diets 3 and 4 was obviously the result of poor feed intake of this group of fish during the first week of the experiment while adapting to the new diet. The depression of growth performance and
Acknowledgements
N. Richter is grateful to the ‘Katholischer Akademischer Ausländer Dienst’, Bonn, for providing her with a scholarship for the degree of Master of Science at Hohenheim University in Germany. The authors thank Dr. G. Francis, H. Baumgärtner, B. Fischer and H. Richter for their assistance throughout the period of this study.
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