July 2012 (Vol. 2 | Issue 7)

  Abstract   The hen’s diet influences the fatty acids, minerals and vitamins content in eggs. The vitamin A content of eggs responds slowly to dietary vitamin A changes but the change is rapid for riboflavin. Pantothenic acid, folacin, biotin, vitamin B12 and D respond greatly to dietary increases. Feed vitamin transfer efficiency to the egg is very high (60-80%) for vitamin A, high (40-50%) for riboflavin, patothenic acid, biotin and vitamin B12, medium (15-25%) for vitamins D3 and E, and low (5-10%) for vitamin K1, thiamin and folacin. Attempts have been made to reduceegg cholesterol contents by altering the yolk fatty acidcomposition. The cholesterol-lowering effects of polyunsaturatedfatty acids (PUFA) have been recognized. Feedinglayers a diet rich in PUFA resulted in a large increase in therelative and absolute concentrations of PUFA in yolk total lipid. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) have been reported to have a widerange of health-beneficial effects, including...

  Abstract   Heavy metal contamination of fresh water may have devastating effects on the ecological balance of the recipient environment and a diversity of aquatic organisms. The aims of this study were to evaluate heavy metal contamination of the Nokoué Lake (Southern Benin) and the dynamic of their distribution in organs of fishes (Mugil cephalus L. and Tilapia guineensis). Results indicated that waters of lake Nokoué are contaminated with heavy metal and fishes (Mugil cephalus L. and Tilapia guineensis ) living in this polluted waters tend to accumulate heavy metals in their tissues. The metals showed different affinity to fish tissues. They accumulated mainly in liver and gills. Accumulation of metals in various organs of fish may cause structural lesions and functional disturbances.   Key words: Mugil cephalus L., Tilapia guineensis, heavy metal, Lake Nokoue, Bénin

  Abstract   This study was conducted in 57 small farms located in mountainous and forest areas by the Office of Sylvo Pastoral Development North West of Tunisia (ODESYPANO), during the periods between 2007 and 2010. A total of 286 dairy cows were subjected to the approach adopted by the ODESYPANO. The dosages of progesterone (the day of insemination at 21-24 days post insemination), the pregnancy specific protein bovine (PSPB) in 30 to 35 days post insemination and rectal palpation at 60-90 days post first insemination allowed us to determine the effects of embryonic and fetal mortality. The average rate of embryonic and fetal mortality were 32.4% (n = 84), 19.9% ​​(n = 51) and 9.4% (n = 24) respectively for Early Embryonic Mortality / No fertilization (EEMNF), Late Embryonic Mortality (LEM) and fetal mortality (FM). The EEMNF was not significantly influenced by breed, class of lactation number, calving season, suckling, the housing type, clas...

  Abstract   Agglutinating compounds are commonly used to improve the physical quality of aquafeeds. An evaluation was done of the effect of the agglutinating compound sodium alginate on the functional properties of aquaculture fish feed produced by extrusion. Meals containing one of four sodium alginate concentrations (0, 0.5, 1.5 and 2%) were extruded in a simple-screw extruder at 120 °C, 20% moisture content and a 1:1 compression ratio, extruding each treatment in duplicate. Expansion index values ranged from 1.11 to 1.12 with no differences (P > 0.05) between the diets containing sodium alginate. In contrast, the different sodium alginate levels had positive (P < 0.05) effects on water absorption index values (2.24 to 2.79 g/g), water solubility index values (10 to 12.94%), sinking velocity (6 to 8.56 cm/s) and hardness (1.98 to 3.31 N). Maximum hardness (3.31 N) was produced in the 2% sodium alginate diet. The highest sodium alginate level tested (2%) had th...

  Abstract  Cowpea [(Vigna unguiculata L.) Walp. (Fabaceae)] is the most important food legume grown throughout West Africa. The seeds of this legume protein source are the least expensive for most African populations. However, cowpea production is severely limited by the losses (60-70%) caused by Callosobruchus maculatus F. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Whereas many studies have been devoted to the ecology of these bruchids and allowed to distinguish physiotypes and morphotypes, few studies have been conducted on the spatial and temporal structuring of populations of the weevil and migration patterns between agro-ecological areas. By using molecular data; (a combined set of a mitochondrial and ribosomal genes), this study aims to identify genetic diversity and phylogenetic affinities of allopatric C. maculatus populations within the West Africa sub-region. Climate influence (Agro-ecological conditions) was also tested. The results reveal several ecotypes circulate in t...

  Abstract   Genetic and sex differences or variation in carcass characteristic and slaughter yield were studied using a total of 150 intensively reared and clinically normal chickens consisted of 50 each of normal feather, naked neck and frizzled matured chickens genotypes. The result showed that genotype as well as sex have significant effect (P<0.05) on carcass characteristics and slaughter yield at twenty weeks old. The slaughter weight means values ranged from 1693.00±71.43g to 2084.00±108.43g in normal-feathered to naked-neck chicken. The slaughter weight, carcass weight and dressing percentage were better in the naked neck chicken than other genetic groups. Moreover, male chickens showed significant (P<0.05) and higher slaughter weights, carcass weight, dressing percentage than females across all genotypes. Correlation coefficients (r) among carcass traits were all positive and very highly significant (P<0.01) and ranged from 0.14 which was not signific...