The Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value of Mulberry Leaf as a Protein Source in Poultry Diets

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of mulberry (Morus alba) leaf meal (MLM) and its nutritive value as a feed ingredient in diets of broiler and layer chickens. The crude dry matter, protein, ash, fat, crude fibre, NDF, ADF, Ca, P and gross energy contents were 89.3%, 29.8%, 11.8%, 11.1%, 32.3%, 22.8%, 0.28% 2.7% and 4220kcal/kg respectively. The amino acids composition of MLM indicates it is a good source of essential amino acids especially lysine 1.88% and leucine 2.55%. The overall ileal true amino acids availability was similar between layers and broilers. The digestibility coefficients of individual amino acids for aspartic acid, glutamic acid, tyrosine, histidine, argnine, glycine and tryptophan was significantly (p<0.05) higher for layers compared to those for broilers. However, the digestibility of methionine was higher (P<0.05) in broilers than layers.