Effect of banana foliage (Musa x paradisiaca) on nutrition, parasite infection and growth of lambs

Two successive completely randomised feeding trials were performed to test the nutritional value and anthelmintic properties of banana foliage in lambs. In the first trial, 40 five-month-old Martinik lambs (body weight: 17.3 ± 4.1 kg) were divided into four groups: artificially infected with Haemonchus contortus or non-infected lambs consuming a Dichantium hay or banana foliage diet. In the second trial, 20 lambs fed with a Dichantium hay diet were divided into two groups (Dichantium hay or banana foliage diet) 21 days after being infected with H. contortus.Low growth rates were recorded in lambs, which were linked to the low intake of digestible dry matter. The first trial indicated a lack of effect of banana foliage against H. contortus in lambs. In the second trial, a significant positive effect of banana foliage on faecal egg count was observed, illustrating the probable effect of banana foliage on the fecundity of adult worms.