Intake, blood metabolites and hormonal profile in sheep fed processed Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) meal

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of feeding processed Jatropha meal (JM) incorporated diets on intake, digestibility, blood metabolites and hormonal profile in sheep. The fifteen adult male non-descript sheep were randomly divided into three equal groups. Throughout the 90-d experimental period, all the animals were fed oat (Avena sativa) straw ad libitum and one of three concentrate mixtures: maize 320 g/kg, wheat bran 340 g/kg, rice bran 110 g/kg, soybean meal 200 g/kg, mineral mixture 20 g/kg, and salt 10 g/kg (T1) and sodium chloride (NaCl; 10 g/kg JM; T2) or calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] processed JM (5 g/kg JM; T3) substituting 120 g/kg of crude protein (CP) in T1 (T2 and T3). The metabolism trial was conducted during the last 7 d of the experiment. Blood samples were collected at day 0, 30, 60 and 90 of the experiment to study the blood metabolites. The phorbol ester and haemagglutination (HA) activity were reduced considerably in processed JM. The dry matter, organic matter and CP intake were lower (P<0.05) in sheep fed T2 and T3 compared to T1. The packed cell volume, serum albumin, glucose, serum urea, triiodothyronine, thyroxine and testosterone contents decreased (P<0.05) in sheep fed T2 and T3 compared to T1. Alkaline phosphatase activity was lower (P<0.01) in T2 and T3 compared to T1, whereas lactate dehydrogenase and aspartate amino transferase activities increased (P<0.01) in sheep fed T2 and T3 compared to T1. From the observations, it is concluded that, even though phorbol ester content and HA activity was markedly decreased by processing JM with NaCl and Ca(OH)2, this was not sufficient to reach a safe level for feeding sheep. A reduced nutrient intake and unusual blood metabolite levels was evident in the processed JM-fed animals.