Blood profile of West African Dwarf goats fed Zingiber officinale supplemented diet

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of ginger (Zingiberofficinale) supplemented diets on the blood profile of West African Dwarf (WAD)goats. Twelve (12) goats with an average weight range of 5.57-6.95kg were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments supplemented with ginger at different inclusion levels of 0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6% with each treatment having three animals which served as replicates in a completely randomized design. Prior to commencement of the study, blood was collected via the jugular vein into different sterilized specimen bottles with and without anti-coagulant (EDTA) for haematological and serum biochemical evaluations respectively. This was repeated at the end of the study period which lasted for 60 days. The haematological parameters results obtained at the post trials did not differ significantly while significant reduction was observed in the alanine amino transferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), cholesterol and creatinine values. It was therefore concluded that Zingiber officinale has the potential to maintain a good health status in the regulation of serum enzymes, cholesterol which might have adverse health implications if above normal.