ANTIBIOTIC POTENTIALS OF BITTER LEAF (Vernonia amydgalina) ON BROILER CHICKENS
This experiment was conducted to assess different mode of administrating Vernonia amydgalina in broiler chickens diet. The harvested V. amydgalina from Moniya, Ibadan, Oyo State, were air dried, milled into powder and 4kg was divided into two groups of which one was macerated in a diluted ethanol at a ratio of 1:1 of ethanol and water to make 5 liters, while the other group was in 5 liters of water; they were both allowed to stay for 72 hour of 12 hours intermittent stirring. The mixture was sieved with a muslin cloth after which it was filtered with a whatmann No. 1 filter paper. The extracts were refrigerated until required for use. Two hundred unsexed Arbor acre day-old broiler chicks were procured and subjected to five experimental diets consisting of T1 (0%) V. amydgalina, plus normal routine medication, T2 and T3 were administered 1% ethanolic and aqueous extracts, T4 were subjected to 1% V. amydgalina leaf meal in diet and T5 (negative control) had no antibiotics nor V. amydgalina. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA α0.05. The proximate composition of V. amydgalina revealed: 22.75%, 12.00%, 24.10%, 7.13%, 10.10%, 89.90% and 31.05% for CP, Ash, CF, EE, MC, DM and NFE respectively. There were no significant difference in the growth parameters except FCR which had the best values in T1 and T3. In conclusion V. amydgalina has the potential to replace antibiotics in broiler production and can be either administered either as extract of aqueous and ethanol or as a leaf meal at 1%.
Keywords: antibiotics, medicinal plants, phytochemical, screening, Vernonia amydgalina extract,
