Evaluating the nutritive values and in vitro degradability characteristics of leaves,seeds and seedpods from Moringa stenopetala

BACKGROUND: Moringa stenopetala is a multipurpose tree which has several agricultural, industrial and medicinal uses. The nutritive value of East African M. stenopetala has not been fully investigated and pertinent data for ruminants are lacking. The present study was therefore conducted to fill this gap by providing the latest information on chemical composition and in vitro fermentation of M. stenopetala tree parts. RESULTS: The respective metabolizable energy values for leaves, seeds and seedpods were 10.0, 7.0 and 5.1 g kg^?1 dry matter (DM). The crude protein (CP) contents for leaves, seeds and seedpods were 395, 282 and 110 g kg^?1 DM, respectively. For leaves and seeds, 88% and 83%, respectively, of the CP was true protein. Fat contents (g kg^?1 DM) were relatively high in seeds (334) but not in leaves (84) or seedpods (110). No starch was detected in seeds. Leaves were a potentially useful source of calcium,, sodium and manganese, containing 18.5, 4.1 and 0.086 g kg^?1 DM, respectively. The concentrations of essential amino acids in leaves for leucine, valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and threonine were 8.5, 5.3, 5.3, 4.5, and 4.4 g 16 g N^?1, respectively, and were comparable to those found in soybean and Moringa olifera leaves. The contents of total phenols in seeds and leaves were 1.2 and 56.7 g kg^?1 DM, respectively. CONCLUSION: The chemical composition of leaves and seeds from M. stenopetala revealed its potential as a protein and energy supplement for ruminant livestock. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry