Haematological Characteristics of Heterobranchus Bidorsalis Geoffroy St. Hilaire (1809) Fed Varying Inclusion Levels of Aqueous and Ethanolic Moringa Oleifera Leave Extracts

The application of haematological techniques is a valuable tool in fisheries health management and is equally essential procedure for diagnosing and monitoring of fish physiological, pathological and nutritional status. The use of phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) is a modern innovation in achieving sustainable agquaculture, However, there is limited report on the effects of PFAs such as Moringa oleifera leave extract on the haematological profile of H. bidorsalis broodstock Hence, this study on hematological characteristics provides useful information in this regard. The solvent and method of extraction of feed additives, the age as well as the sex influence the blood differentials of fish. In this study the haematological analyses of the male and female broodstock of H. bidorsalis were investigated following dietary administration of diets containing graded inclusion levels of aqueous Moringa oleifera Leave Extract (AMOLE) and Ethanolic Moringa oleifera Leave Extract (EMOLE). The formulated test diets contained 0.00/100g (control), 1.0g/100g, 2.0g/100g and 3.0g/100g inclusion levels of the extracts while H. bidorsalis samples (n=216; 800.00+150.00g; 37.50±1.5cm) were randomly distributed in triplicate into 24 concrete tanks of size 6m x 4m x1.3m in a completely randomized 2×4 factorial design and fed at 5% body weight twice daily for 16 weeks. The haematological profile of the male and female broodstock samples were evaluated after the nutritional experimental feed trial following standard procedures. Analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA with post hoc (LSD) comparison) was used to determine and compare haematological data among all reared fish. All Treatment means were separated by Least Significant Differences (LSD) at P