title: Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Meat Yield of Boer Goats Fed Diets Containing Leaves or Whole Parts of Andrographis paniculata.
abstract: The study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding diets containing Andrographis paniculata leaves (APL), whole Andrographis paniculata plant (APWP) and a control without Andrographis paniculata (AP0), on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat yield of 24 intact Boer bucks. The results obtained indicated that inclusion of Andrographis paniculata significantly improved feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency and live weight. The ratios of carcass to fat, lean to bone, lean to fat, and composition of meat were also improved. In addition, there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the dietary treatments in dressing percentage and chilling loss. Goats fed on AP0 (control) had significantly higher proportions of fat and bone, as well as thicker back fat than the supplemented animals (APL and APWP). Higher gut fill in animals fed Andrographis paniculata suggested slow rate of digestion, which could have improved utilization and absorption of nutrients by the animals. Goats fed Andrographis paniculata also produced higher meat yield and relatively lower fat contents (p<0.05).
authors: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia ; Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, P.M.B. 2346, Sokoto, Nigeria .
authors: A L
authors: AL
authors: Yusuf
authors: Department of Veterinary Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia . ; Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia .
authors: Y M
authors: YM
authors: Goh
authors: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia.
authors: A A
authors: AA
authors: Samsudin
authors: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia.
authors: A R
authors: AR
authors: Alimon
authors: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia ; Halal Products Research Institute, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia .
authors: A Q
authors: AQ
authors: Sazili
keywords: Andrographis paniculata; Carcass; Goats; Growth; Meat