Carcass Characteristics, Haemato-Biochemical Indices and Antioxidant Status of Weaned Pigs Fed Diets Supplemented with Varying Levels of Fresh Waterleaf (Talinum triangulare)

Abstract

A 56-day feeding study was carried out using eighteen (18) weaned pigs randomly allotted to three dietary treatments containing 0, 5, and 10g/kg of fresh waterleaf, with six replicates per treatment, in a completely randomized design (CRD) to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with fresh waterleaf on carcass characteristics, haemato-biochemical indices, and antioxidant status of weaned pigs. Carcass characteristics revealed significant (P<0.05) differences only in lung and kidney weights. Pigs fed diet T3 had the heaviest lung weight (0.10kg), while pigs fed diet T1 recorded the highest value for kidney weight (0.20kg). Eviscerated weight, slaughtered weight, live weight, head, neck, carcass length, forelimb, hindlimb, liver, and intestine did not differ significantly (P>0.05) among treatments. Haematological indices indicated that pigs fed diet T1 had the highest packed cell volume (PCV; 43.00%), and white blood cell count (WBC; 18.65×10⁹/L) while pigs fed diet T3 had the highest red blood cell count (RBC; 3.90×10⁶/L). Serum biochemistry showed that pigs fed diet T1 had the highest aspartate aminotransferase (AST; 48.33IU/L) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT; 23.19IU/L). The antioxidant status observed for pigs fed diet T1 had the highest superoxide dismutase (SOD; 17.67U/mL) while glutathione (GSH) was highest in pigs fed diets T2 (8.01U/mL) and diet T3 (8.39U/mL). Supplementation with diet T2 produced optimum values across most parameters analysed. The study indicates that fresh waterleaf can be included in weaned pig diets as a functional and cost-efficient feed ingredient in resource-limited areas to enhance pig production.