Meeting Abstract
P1.118 Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30 Evaluation of Moringa oleifera leaves as a short-term nutrient source for animal health FOWLER, L.A*; PAUL, L.T; WATTS, S.A; University of Alabama, Birmingham; University of Alabama, Birmingham; University of Alabama, Birmingham fowlela@uab.edu
Consumption of Moringa oleifera leaves can provide a significant source of protein, vitamins and minerals for human consumption in developing countries. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Moringa leaf as a dietary supplement in a formulated zebrafish diet. While the Moringa leaf was found to be a suitable dietary micronutrient supplement, it was not acceptable as a long term sole source ingredient. Zebrafish fed a diet of Moringa leaf exhibited poor growth performance and no reproductive success, but showed reasonable survivorship. In the present study we evaluated the recovery of growth rate and body condition index (K) following a period of feeding M. oleifera as a sole source ingredient. Juveniles were raised on live feed until 30 days of age, and then separated into three treatments to be fed over an 8 week period. Treatments were fed either a control diet (formulated feed C), dried, ground Moringa leaves for the first four weeks, followed by the control diet for the last four weeks (M-C), or a diet of dried Moringa leaves during the entire trial (M). Weights and lengths were recorded weekly. The M treatment had the least growth performance and smallest K value. The C treatment group exhibited the highest growth performance and an increased K value. The M-C treatment had significant recovery in weight gain and body condition index after changing to the control diet, with notable increases in weight gain occurring within a week. These results suggest that M. oleifera can provide sufficient nutrients for maintenance short term, and that recovery is possible when nutrient complete diets become available. In human populations, we hypothesize that M. oleifera can serve as a short-term nutrient source when food is limited.
