Effects of Vernonia amygdalina Leaf Meal on Male Hormone and Reproductive Organ Weight of Thryonomys swinderianus

Abstract

Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) feeds mainly on green plants especially those with succulent stems. Vernonia amygdalina the most prominent species and one of the tropical tribes of the family Asteraceae, it is so unique that every part of it has an economic importance and has been shown to be valuable nutritionally. The aim of the experiment was to determine the effect of administering Vernonia amygdalina leaf diets on testis weight and reproductive hormones of grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus). A total of eighteen male weaner grasscutters weighing between 281.33g and 304.21g were allotted to six treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD). The animals in treatment A (control) were given feed without Vernonia amygdalina (VA) leaf meal, B had 1g VA/kg feed, C had 2g VA/ kg feed, D had 3g VA/kg feed, E had 4g VA/kg feed and F had 5g VA/kg feed. Feeding was done for a period of seven (7) weeks and at the end of the experiment, two animals were selected per treatment after starving for about 10hours, sedated with diethylether soaked in cotton –wool and placed close to nostril to reduce handling stress before slaughtering by severing the carotid artery and the jugular vein. Blood was collected into plain bottles, centrifuged at 500rpm for 5minutes to obtain serum for hormonal tests. The hormones tested for were luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, oetrogen and testosterone. The penis and testis were weighed and recorded after excision and removal of adhering fats. Data collected were subjected to analysis using SAS 2008 model and mean differences separated with Tukey studentized range test. The reproductive hormones and testis weights were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the Vernonia amygdalina inclusions. It showed that Treatment F had the highest luteinizing hormone while treatment A had the lowest. Treatment D had the highest follicle stimulating hormone while treatment E had the lowest. Treatment A had the highest oestrogen level while treatment B had the lowest. Treatment A had highest testosterone while treatment B had the lowest. It was observed that the addition of Vernonia amygdalina leaf meal as feed supplement of grasscutter had no adverse effect on their reproductive parameters as could be observed from the reproductive organ weight and reproductive hormone values of the animal.