Effect of dietary incorporation of Mulberry Leaves on nutritive value of rations, digestibility, growth performance and blood constituents of male Ossimi lambs.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different levels of mulberry leaves (ML) supplementation on nutritive value of rations, digestibility and growth performance, blood traits and antioxidant status of lambs. A total of 40 male Ossimi lambs (4-5months age and 20.6 ± 0.8 kg body weight) was used in the current study. Lambs were classified to four groups (10 per group); The control group fed basal diet only, while the second (T1), third (T2) and fourth (T3) groups were fed basal diet incorporation with 5%, 10% and 15% of dried ML, respectively. ML supplementation significantly enhanced (p < 0.05) daily gain, total gain, final body weight, dry matter, organic matter, crude protein digestibility and ruminal fluid parameters in treated lambs compared to control group. While T3 was the best regarding feed conversion ratio and efficiency (p < 0.01). The total digestible nutrient was significantly greater in T2 (71.6%) followed by T3 (71.3%) and T1 (69.3%), while it was 68.4% in the control group. Dietary inclusion of mulberry leaves (ML) revealed a significant beneficial effect on blood parameters, liver and kidney function, lipid profile and thyroid function. The total antioxidant capacity, Catalase, Superoxide dismutase were higher with lower levels of malondialdehyde in the ML groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Moreover, lambs fed diets containing mulberry leaves (ML) exhibited enhanced nutrient digestibility, improved rumen fermentation parameters, better growth performance, favorable blood biochemical profiles, enhanced thyroid activity and improved antioxidant status. Based on the present findings, ML can be incorporated into lamb diets at levels of 10-15% without adverse effects and with measurable productive benefit.