Growth Performance, Haematology and Serum Biochemical Profile of Rabbit Does Administered Varying Dosages of Methanolic Extract of Mistletoe (Tapinanthus bangwensis) Leaves

Abstract

This study was carried out using sixteen (16) female weaned rabbits of composite breed and aged between 6-8 weeks to evaluate the growth performance, haematology and biochemical profile following the administration of varying dosages of methanolic extract of mistletoe (Tapinanthus bangwensis) leaves. The rabbits were divided into four treatments with 4 rabbits, each serving as a replicate and the treatments designated as T1, T2, T3 and T4. The groups were administered 0mg/kg body weight (control), 100mg/kg body weight (once a month), 200mg/kg body weight (twice in a month) and 300mg/kg body weight (thrice in a month) of the methanolic extract respectively. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks. The parameters measured were the initial body weight (IBW), final body weight (FBW), total weight gain (TWG), nose to shoulder (NTSL), shoulder to tail length (STL), heart girth (HG), length of ear (EL), haematology and biochemical profiles. It was observed that rabbits in T3 (200mg/kg body weight) had the highest (P<0.05) final body weight gain (2.63kg) and total weight gain (1.13kg) while rabbits in T4 (300mg/kg body weight) had the highest nose to shoulder length (14.07cm), shoulder to tail length (22.60cm), heart girth (26.55cm) and the length of ear (10.98cm). Therefore, drenching of rabbit does with methanolic extract of mistletoe leaves up to 300mg/kg body weight is beneficial to weight gain and morphometric development in weaner rabbit does.