Replacement of Dietary Crude Protein of Soybean Meal by Tobacco Leaf Protein Concentrate on Growth, Haematological and Biochemical Responses of Catfish, Clarias gariepinus

Abstract

This study assessed the effects of replacing dietary crude protein of soybean meal with tobacco leaf protein concentrate (TLPC) on growth, haematological and biochemical parameters of catfish, Clarias gariepinus juveniles. The catfish (n=126, mean weight = 31.77±0.07g) were arranged in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 3 replicates with 7fish per experimental unit and fed for 40days. The treatments were 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% replacement levels of soybean meal with Tobacco leaf protein concentrate respectively.  Diets had negative effects (p > 0.05) on mean weight gain (MWG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) across treatments. Fish in the control group recorded highest values for MWG (51.20±0.25g), SGR (2.40±0.01) and PER (2.48±0.02). Similarly, the best value for FCR (1.03±0.01) was recorded amongst the control group of fish. With the exceptions of WBC, NEUT, LYPH and MCV, significant differences (p<0.05) were recorded in the values of Packed cell volume, red blood cells, Haemoglobin, PLT, MCHC and MCH across diets. The biochemical parameters recorded no significant differences (p > 0.05) across treatments with the exceptions of CHO, HDL and LDL. Also, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the values of GSH, SOD, CAT and MDA across treatments. The poor growth performance coupled with reduced physiological activities of TLPC at different inclusion levels, confirmed that it could not favourably replace soybean meal however, TLPC enhanced the enzymatic antioxidant activities in the experimental fish, consequently improving the health status of C. gariepinus.