Proximate, mineral and pytochemical screening of ethanolic leaf extract of Senna occidentalis as phytobiotic additive in poultry rations.

Abstract

The proximate, mineral and phytochemical components of Senna occidentalis leaves ethanolic extract were determined in triplicates using standard laboratory procedures. The results of the proximate analyses revealed that Senna occidentalis leaves ethanolic extract had 8.40% moisture content (MC), 20.49% crude protein (CP), 18.31% crude fibre (CF), 27.36% ether extract (EE), 9.20% ash, 16.24% nitrogen free extract (NFE) and 3550.81 Kcal/kg metabolizable energy (ME). It was observed that the leaves contained 190.80, 28.20, 1930.00, 18.00, 7.15, 8.26, 4.30 and 8.66mg/l of potassium (K), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) respectively. The phytochemical screening showed that cardiac glycosides and phenols were absent, flavols were present, while saponins, favonols and alkaloids were largely present. The analyses revealed that Senna occidentalis leaves ethanolic extract has a potent nutritional and phytobiotic attributes in poultry feeding.

Key Words: Coffee weed, minerals, proximate, phytochemicals, phytobiotics.