Nutritive assessment of four local herbal plants as animal feed supplements
Hamzah, S.F1, Alimon, A.R2, Yaakub, H3.
Many local herbal plants are generally rich in secondary metabolites and contain high amount of
essential nutrients.. A study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant content and antimicrobial
activities of 4 selected herbal plants: Andrographis paniculata (Hempedu Bumi), Orthosiphon
stamineus (Misai Kucing), Euphorbia hirta (Ara Tanah) and Boreria latifolia (Boreria) that are
widely available in Malaysia. Proximate analysis, phyto-chemical determination and in vitro
technique were used to evaluate nutritive value of the herbal plants. Fatty acid profile and 2,2-
diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DDPH) free radical scavenging activity were also explored. A.
paniculata had the highest content of crude protein (18.13±0.18%), calcium (11.92±1.66%),
saponin (18.73±1.13%) and flavonoids (1.25±0.21%). while, E. hirta contained highest tannin
(0.24±0.007%), phenol (0.02±0.004%) and antioxidant content (9.22±0.02%). For antimicrobial
activity, E. hirta, A. paniculata and O. stamineus methanol extracts at 500 mg/ml concentration
showed moderate antimicrobial activities. The methanol extracts of all herbal plants exhibited
stronger antimicrobial activities against the test pathogens compared to the herbal water extracts.
Among the 4 local herbal plants examined, A. paniculata contained the lowest total saturated
fatty acids (26.53±0.19 g/100g FAME) and highest unsaturated fatty acids (73.47±0.19 g/100g
FAME) and E. hirta had the highest total gas production (49.10±8.97 ml), rate of gas production
(2.05±0.37 ml/h). All herbal plants studied have their own potential as animal feed supplements.
Affiliation:
- Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
- Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
- Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia