Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Meat Yield of Boer Goats Fed Diets Containing Leaves or Whole Parts of Andrographis paniculata

• Published in: Animal bioscience Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 503 - 510
• Main Authors: Yusuf, A L, Goh, Y M, Samsudin, A A, Alimon, A R, Sazili, A Q
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Asian - Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies 01-04-2014; Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies (AAAP) and Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology (KSAST); 아세아·태평양축산학회
• Subjects: Animal feeding and feeds; Food and nutrition; Goats; Growth; Health aspects; Meat; Physiological aspects; Quality; Zoological research; 축산학; Malaysia; Andrographis paniculata; Goats; Growth; Carcass; Meat
• ISSN: 1011-2367; 2765-0189; 1976-5517; 2765-0235
• DOI: 10.5713/ajas.2013.13533

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).