Hematology and Serum Biochemical Indices of Growing Rabbits Fed Diet Supplemented with Different Level of Indigofera Zollingeriana Leaf Meal

This study was conducted to determine the hematological and serum biochemical parameters of growing rabbits fed diet supplemented with Indigofera zollingeriana leaf meal (IZM). A total number of Fifty (50) growing rabbits of between seven and eight weeks of age were randomly assigned to five treatment groups in a completely randomized design. Each group was replicated five times with two rabbits per replicate. Five experimental diets were formulated such that T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 was supplemented with IZM at 0g, 2.5g, 5.0g, 7.5g and 10g respectively. Feed and water were provided ad libitum and the experiment lasted for 8 weeks. The hematological parameters determined included pack cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cells (RBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), white blood cell (WBC) and its differentials while those of serum biochemical indices are: total protein, globulin, albumin, cholesterol, serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT). Results on hematology revealed that there were no significant differences (P>0.05) in the values of PCV, RBC, MCV, WBC and its differentials. Hb, MCH and MCHC values were significantly (p <0.05) influenced by the dietary supplementation of IZM. All results on the serum biochemical parameters showed that there was no significant (P>0.05) differences among the treatments. It was concluded that dietary supplementation of IZM up to 10g/kg had no deleterious effect on the hematology and serum biochemical parameters of rabbits.