Dosage Effects of Aqueous Extract of Baobab Tree (Adansonia digitata Linn) Bark on Growth Performance, Blood Profile, Intestinal Morphology and Microflora of Cockerel Chickens

In the past, antibiotics have been used as feed additives to improve growth performance, egg production and to protect animals from pathogenic micro-organisms. The ban on the use of synthetic antibiotics as growth-promoting substance led to increase in research on organic acids and phytobiotics that are prebiotic and probiotic in nature (Patterson and Burkholder, 2003). These organic acids should be able to influence animal health and improve productivity. In spite of these promising medicinal values of Adansonia digitata bark, its full economic potentials have not been fully explored particularly in poultry production. The Baobab fruit pulp shows interesting properties in the stimulation of the intestinal microflora growth. The hydrosoluble fraction of the fruit pulp has stimulating effects on the proliferation of bifido bacteria in in-vitro assays (Baobab Fruit Company, 2008). Soluble dietary fibres, as those contained in the pulp (about 25%), are known to have prebiotics effects stimulating the growth and/or the metabolic activity of beneficial organisms (BFCS, 2008). Adansonia digitata root-bark and leaf methanol extracts have shown high antiviral activity against Herpes simplex, Sindbis and Polio (Anani et al., 2000), together with viricidal (direct inactivation of virus particles) and also intracellular antiviral activity, which could indicate the presence of multiple antiviral compounds, or a single compound with multiple actions (Hudson et al., 2000). Abstract This experiment investigated the dosage effects of the aqueous extract of Baobab Tree Bark (AEBTB) on growth performance, blood profile and intestinal micro-flora of cockerel chickens for 16 weeks. A total of 200 Isa brown dayold cockerel chicks were used in groups of AEBTB (0, 300, 325, 350 and 375 mg/ litre of water) for the experiment. Qualitative and quantitative (mg/100 g) phytochemical screening revealed that AEBTB contained flavonoid (36.33 mg), cardiac glycoside (31.46 mg), saponin (23.26 mg), alkaloid (24.86 mg), tannin (19.28 mg) and phenolic (17.06 mg). The most common components in GS-MS was 9-Octadecenoic acid (C19H36O2; 296.0 g/mol). At the chick phase, significantly (p<0.05) highest final weight (416.50 g/bird) and weight gain of 47.69 g/bird/day were recorded in birds on 375 mg/litre when compared with the control. Alkaline phosphatase, RBC, Hb, PCV and MCHC were significantly (p<0.05) reduced by AEBTB in the birds when compared with the control and the lowest total bacterial count was in birds on 375 mg/litre of AEBTB. However, at the grower phase, birds on 300 mg/litre AEBTB had the best (p<0.05) feed conversion ratio. The study concluded that AEBTB at 300 mg/litre improved health status and growth performance of meat-type chickens.