International Journal of AgriScience Vol. 4(6):293-300, June 2014 www.inacj.

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ISSN: 2228-6322© International Academic Journals

Evaluation of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn) calyx meal as dietary

supplement in grower pig production

Agbabiaka L. A.1*, G.A. Nkwocha.2, K.U. Anukam2 and T.O. Beketin3

1
School of Industrial and Applied Sciences, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri. Nigeria. *Author for correspondence (email:
adegokson2@yahoo.com)
2
Department of Animal Production and Health Technology, Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, PMB 1472 Owerri, Nigeria.
3
Fadama III Coordination Office, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State,Nigeria

Received April 2014; accepted in revised form May 2014

ABSTRACT
A study was conducted to evaluate the growth, carcass and blood characteristics of grower pigs fed
varying levels of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx meal-based diets. Thirty six Large White x Landrace grower
pigs with mean body weight of 20.8±0.5kg were assigned to four diets (CP=18%) in which Hibiscus
sabdariffa calyx meal (HSCM) replaced maize at 0%, 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% dietary levels respectively in a
completely randomized design .The trial pigs were randomly divided into four groups of 9 pigs, each
group was sub-divided into three replicates of 3 pigs and assigned to the experimental diets respectively.
Diets and clean drinking water were offered ad-libitum daily for a period of 28 days. Data collected
revealed that Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx meal significantly (P<0.05) affected average daily feed intake,
weight gain, feed conversion ratio and cost of feed per kilogramme weight gain. Similar observation was
recorded for the haematology and serum parameters. Generally, there was a linear relationship between
growth parameters/carcass measurements and blood constituents as dietary levels of HSCM increased
except serum values for creatinine , cholesterol and dressed weights of the pigs (p<0.05) that were
inversely proportional to HSCM concentration in the diets. Also, the cost of feed to produce a
kilogramme pork significantly (P< 0.05) decreased linearly with dietary HSCM. Results of this
experiment has indicated that HSCM incorporation up to 7.5% dietary inclusion into grower pigs diets
will enhance performance, carcass and haematological/serum indices; also it will reduce cost per kilogram
pork, hence, alleviate protein intake deficit among Nigerians.

Keywords: Roselle, performance, grower pigs, diets, blood characteristics

INTRODUCTION the population (FAO/WHO, 1996). Many

The importance of animal protein in the diet of
Nigerians cannot be over-emphasized.
According to FAO (1992), nutritional well-being
is a pre-requisite to the achievement of the
social, mental and physical potentials of the
population so that all people can lead fully
productive lives and contribute to the
development of their community in particular
and national economy in general. Statistics has
shown that the average daily intake of animal
protein per caput stands at about 7g in Nigeria as
against 56gms /head / day recommended (FAO,
2000) for the daily maintenance of the health of
Nigerians cannot meet this requirement due to
high cost of animal products (Fasuyi, 2005,
Agbabiaka, 2012). There is need to encourage
Animal production especially livestock such as
pigs in the third world countries because of their
potentials as a polytoccus, fast growing animal
with very high ability to convert poor quality
feedstuffs/ Agricultural waste into
meat(Agbabiaka et al., 2013a).The use of
unconventional feed resources for livestock
feeding especially in the developing countries
has been reported as a panacea for sustainable
livestock development and the surest way of

International Journal of AgriScience Vol. 4(6):293-300, June 2014 293

reducing the global food crisis (Agbabiaka,
2013).
Hibiscus sabdariffa is a shrub belonging to the
family Malvaceae and was reported to be native
to Asia or tropical Africa, Nigeria (Mahadevan
et al., 2008). It is an annual herbaceous shrub,
cultivated for its flowers, although leaves and
seeds have also been used in traditional
medicine. The plant is reported to be relatively
rich in proteins, a nutrient that is often reported
as the most expensive and limiting in tropical
livestock nutrition; fats, carbohydrates,
flavonoids, acids, minerals and vitamins,. This
plant may therefore fill a gap in protein
deficiency. The calyces (flowers) of the plant
have been used as a refrigerant in the form of
tea, to make jellies, jam and “zobo” in Hausa
community of Nigeria (Carvajal-Zarrabal.et al.,
2009).
Roselle calyx contains phenolic compounds,
about 20.3-21.84g/kg dry matter
(Aphirakchatsakun et al., 2008; Kijparkorn et
al., 2009). Phenolic compound in Roselle calyx
is composed of anthocyanin (red pigment
presented in the flowers), the plant have
antihypertensive, hapto-protective, anti-
hyperlipidemic, anticancer and antioxidant
properties (Mahadevan et al., 2008). Roselle tea
is used to suppress high blood pressure (Prota,
2010), The plant is used to treat heart and nerve
diseases, high blood pressure and calcified
arteries (Asoulkai et al., 1992). The leaves are a
source of mucilage used in Pharmacy and
cosmetics. Extracts are often used medicinally to
treat colds, toothache, urinary tract infections
and hangover. Leaf juice is used to treat
conjunctivitis in Senegal. Leaves also are
applied as a poultice to treat sores and waves
(Prota, 2010). There is presently inadequate
research on the utilization or potentials of this
wonderful flower on improving livestock (Pig)
production especially in Nigeria. The aim of this
study is therefore, to evaluate the dietary effects
of feeding Roselle calyx meal to grower pigs
using growth, carcass quality and blood
characteristics as indices.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Experimental Site
International Journal of AgriScience Vol. 4(6):293-300, June 2014
The study was carried out at the Teaching and
Research Farm, lmo State Polytechnic
Umuagwo - Ohaji , South-Eastern Nigeria. The
climatic data of the area obtained from the
Federal Ministry of Aviation (2012) reported
that the average annual rainfall between 2000-
2500mm, the institution is situated on latitude
6oN and longitude 7oE of the equator with the
temperature range of 26-32oC and humidity of
70-80%. The soil is sandy loam and slightly
acidic.
Housing and Management
The pigs were housed in pens with total area
measuring 108m2 (18x6x3m) divided into twelve
compartments, each floor measuring 2.5x3m.
The piggery house consists of a concrete floor
with dwarf wall in which the open part was
covered with chicken wire mesh. The roof was
covered with asbestors sheets. The pens were
washed and disinfected with germicide “Izal” a
week before the experiment commenced.
Feed preparation and Feeding.
The Hibiscus flowers were harvested from its
plant within the Campus, dried under the shade
for 4 days and milled to form the Hibiscus
sabdariffa calyx meal (HSCM). The sample of
milled HSCM was analyzed for proximate
composition (AOAC, 2000) and phytochemical
tests were carried out according to Enujiugha
and Olubunmi (2003). Four isonitrogenous
(CP=18%) and isocaloric (ME=3300 kcal/kg)
treatment diets were formulated (table 2),
bagged, labelled accordingly and stored in a cool
dried room at room temperature. Samples of
each treatment diets were also analysed for
nutrients‟ assay (AOAC, 2000).
Experimental Animals and Design
Thirty-six (36) strain of cross-bred ((Large
White x Landrace) grower pigs with average
weights of 21.40±0.10kg were used. Pigs were
acclimated/adapted in the study arena by feeding
control diet and water supplied ad libitum for a
week ; within which time routine management
practice notably deworming was carried out to
keep endoparasites under check and
oxytetracycline was also given to the pigs as
prophylactics. After adaptation, pigs were
weighed using small ruminant weighing scale
294
(0-50kg) before the commencement of the
experiment and weekly thereafter to determine
the body weight changes. The pigs were divided
into 4 groups of 9 pigs each in a Completely
Randomized Design (CRD). Each treatment was
replicated three times, i.e. 3 pigs each in a
cubicle system of production and randomly
allotted to the four experimental diets. Clean
water and feed were given ad-libitum. Feed
intake was recorded daily by computing the
difference between the feed offered and feed
leftover throughout the duration of the
experiment which lasted for 28 days.
Blood Sample Collection
At the end of the 4 weeks feeding trials being
the last day, 3 pigs were randomly selected from
each treatment i.e. a pig per replicate, starved of
feed overnight but not water. From the selected
restrained pigs, 10ml blood sample was
collected from each pig through the vein at the
ham section with a 10ml sterile syringe. Five (5)
ml of blood samples were collected into Bijon
bottles containing ethylene diamine tetra acetic
acid (EDTA) as the anti-coagulant. These were
used for haematological assay. The remaining
5ml of blood from each of the samples were
collected into the vial bottles (without anti-
coagulant) and was allowed to coagulate to
produce sera used for serum biochemical
analysis according to Duncan and Prasse (1986)
and Campbell (1988) respectively as reported by
Agbabiaka et al. (2013b). The blood samples
collected were taken to the laboratory for
haematological assessment such as, packed cell
volume (PCV), Haemoglobin (Hb), Red blood
cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), Mean cell
volume (MCV), Mean cell haemoglobin (MCH)
and Mean cell haemoglobin concentration
(MCHC). Serum parameters include the total
protein, albumen, globulin, urea, glucose,
Table 1. Proximate composition of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx meal
Parameters
Dry matter
Crude protein
Ether extracts
Crude fibre
Ash
Nitrogen free extracts
ME (Kcal/Kg)
ME = Metabolizable energy calculated ; ME (kcal/kg) = 37 x %CP + 81 x %EE + 35.5 x %NFE (Pauzenga, 1985)
295
creatinine and cholesterol (Duncan and Prasse,
1986).
Carcass Evaluation and Data Analysis
At the end of the 28th days feeding trials, two
pigs were randomly selected from each replicate,
starved of feed overnight but not without water.
Weights before slaughtering were taken and
each pig was immobilized by stunning, killed by
severing the carotid arteries and jugular vein.
The dressed weights and the respective
characteristic carcass/organ weights were
obtained in line with Nwoche et al., (2006). The
relative weights of each carcass were expressed
as percentage of dressed carcass weight. All the
data collected from the study were subjected to
one way Analysis of variance (Steel and Torrie,
1980) while differences in treatment means were
compared using Least Significance Difference
(LSD) as described by Snedecor and Cochram
(1980).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The nutrients assay of HSCM showed that the
calyx contained 15.16% crude protein, the
values of 2.27, 7.20, 7.62 and 45.63% were
recorded for ether extract, crude fibre, ash and
Nitrogen free extract respectively (Table 1). This
crude protein concentration is above the value of
5% but with crude fibre (7.20%) below value of
12.0% reported by Gabb (1997) in Sudan; the
ash contents are comparatively similar (7.0%).
The variations in nutrients composition may be
due to varieties, soil type, genetics and
harvesting conditions of the plant (Atta, 2003).
Nevertheless, phytochemical results indicate
normal levels of phytic acid, hydrogen cyanide,
saponin, tannin and trypsin content for the
normal physiological growth of animals (Seifert,
1996; Anhwange,et al., 2006).
Composition (%)
77.55
15.16
2.27
7.2
7.62
45.63
2364.66
International Journal of AgriScience Vol. 4(6):293-300, June 2014
Table 4 shows the data on performance
characteristics of the experimental grower pigs.
The test ingredient (HSCM) significantly
(p<0.05) affected the average daily feed intake,
feed conversion ratio and the daily weight gain
of pigs. The average daily feed intake of the pigs
on T1 (HSCM0) was lowest (1.65kg) compared
with the values for pigs placed on Hibiscus
sabdariffa calyx based diets. There was a
proportional increase in daily feed intake
(p<0.05) as HSCM increased in diets. There
might have been enhancing appetite, palatability
resulting in appreciable feed intake and
subsequent weight gain of grower pigs. This
agrees with the findings of Asoulkar et al.,
(1992) that „Zobo’ extract has a brilliant and
attractive red colour with sour and agreeable
acidic taste which aid digestion, assimilation and
weight gain. T1 also promoted the least daily
weight of 0.64kg followed by T2 > T3 > T4
respectively. Daily weight gain obtained in this
work is in agreement with National Research
Council (2005) specifications of 600g daily
weight gain expected for optimum productivity.
The best feed conversion ratio was obtained
from T4 (2.42) while the poorest value of 2.62
was recorded in group fed HSCM5; there was a
significant difference between pigs on diet
HSCM7.5 and others fed lower concentrations as
presented in T3, T2 and T1.

Table 2. Phytochemical analysis of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx meal

Parameters Concentration
Phytate (mg/100g) 4.45 ± 0.15
Hydrogen cyanide (mg/100g) 0.22 ± 0.21
Polyphenols (%) 12.11 ± 0.22
Saponin (%) 1.23 ± 0.08
Trypsin inhabitors (mg/100g) 4.45 ± 0.03
Tannins (%) 2.11 ± 0.22

Table 3. Ingredients composition of the experimental diets fed to grower pigs

Dietary inclusion of Hibiscus sabdariffa (%)
Ingredients 0 2.5 5 7.5
H. sabdariffa 0.00 0.05 1.00 1.50
Maize meal 20.00 19.50 19.00 18.50
Palm kernel cake 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00
Rice Bran 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00
Groundnut cake 19.00 19.00 19.00 19.00
Cassava Flour 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00
Fish Meal 4.50 4.50 4.50 4.50
Oyster shell 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00
Wheat Offal 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00
Salt 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
*Vit./Min. 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Premix
TOTAL 100 100 100 100
Crude protein 18.35 18.65 18.81 18.95
Ether extract 5.14 5.17 4.84 4.65
Crude fibre 5.86 5.95 5.77 5.68
Moisture 8.88 7.23 8.02 8.15
Ash 6.20 7.40 7.90 8.20
ME (kcal/kg) 3069.09 3064.87 3028.44 3007.94
ME = Metabolizable energy calculated
*Composition per 2.5kg: Vitamin A 10000000IU, Vit. D 2000000IU, Vit. E 20000IU, Vit. K 2250mg, Thiamine 1750mg, Riboflavin 5000mg, Pyridoxine 2750mg,
Niacin 27500mg, Vit. B12 15mg, Pantothenic acid 7500mg, Folic acid 7500mg, Biotin 50mg, Choline chloride 125g, Manganese 80g, Zinc 50g, Iron 20g,
Copper 5g, Iodine 12g Selenium 200mg, Cobalt 200mg.

International Journal of AgriScience Vol. 4(6):293-300, June 2014 296

The data on carcass/ organ weights expressed as increasing dietary levels of HSCM. The values
percentage of dressed weight are shown in for anthropometric traits such as body length,
Tables 7. HSCM significantly (P<0.05) affected neck circumference, face to snout length
the carcass and organ measurements of the increased with increasing levels of Hibiscus
experimental pigs. Pigs fed with HSCM based sabdariffa calyx meal (p>0.05). The dressed
diets showed significantly (p<0.05) higher live percentage of the pigs reduced with increased
weights compared with the control group HSCM in diets (p<0.05), the reason for this
(HSCM0) that recorded the least (38.67kg). The cannot be adduced because the fibre
same trend was observed in the mean values concentration in the diets were similar (table 3),
observed in carcass weight, though, results of though, there was an observed non-significant
relative organ weight of the trial pigs did not enlargement in weights of the heart, lungs and
follow any definite trend. Organs such as the intestine relatively.
heart, lung and intestine increased with

Table 4. The performance of grower pigs fed Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx based diets
HSCM Dietary Levels (%)
Parameters 0 2.5 5 7.5 SEM
Av. Initial bodyweight (kg) 21.33a 21.50a 21.33a 21.33a 0.28
Av. Final weight (kg) 39.36 38.16 41.21 43.51 1.04
Av. Daily wt. gain (kg) 0.64a 0.60a 0.71b 0.79b 0.38
a c
Av. Daily feed intake (kg) 1.65 1.68 1.86c 1.91b 0.60
a a
Feed conversion ratio 2.58 2.50 2.62ab 2.42c 0.79
Feed cost/kg wt gain (N) 274.50b 272.40b 260.50c 252.80c 0.03
a, b, c
Mean within the row having the same superscripts do not differ significantly (p>0.05)

Hematological and biochemical characteristics protein, Albumin, Globulin denotes that HSCM
are presented on Tables 5 and 6 respectively. positively contributed to the synthesis of such
The Roselle based diets (HSCM2.5-7.5) excelled in blood forming metabolites like magnesium, iron,
virtually all the measured blood parameters copper etc. which also enhances effective
except the cholesterol and clotting time which T 1 transportation of oxygen, glucose and other feed
(HSCM0) recorded highest. The increase in nutrients in the animal‟s body (Piyaphon and
PCV, HB, WBC, MCV, MCHC, Glucose, Total Suwanna, 2011).
Table 5. Hematological values of grower pigs fed Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx meal
HSCM Dietary Levels (%)
Parameters 0 2.5 5 7.5 SEM
HB (g/dl) 12.70a 12.03a 12.23a 12.57a 1.04
PVC (%) 35.10a 35.21b 36.50b 36.63c 2.19
RBC (x 106/µl) 9.76a 9.66a 10.03a 10.05a 1.66
3 a a
WBC (x 10 / µl) 8.23 8.10 9.53b 10.02b 1.49
MCV (pg) 52.4a 53.4b 56.30c 56.80c 3.70
MCH (pg) 14.30a 14.83a 15.20b 16.70c 1.97
MCHC (g/dl) 37.40a 37.20a 37.83a 38.50a 3.07
a a
BCT (Sec) 6.80 7.00 7.20a 7.93a 1.94
a,b,c
Means along the same row bearing the same superscript are not significantly difference (p>0.05).
SEM = Standard error of the means.
HB = Hemoglobin; PCV = Packed Cell Volume; RBC = Red Blood Corpuscles; WBC = White Blood Corpuscles; MCV = Mean
Corpuscular Volume; MCH = Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin; MCHC = Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin concentration; BCT = Blood
Clotting Time

There was a slight increase in values of serum increased linearly in the diets .The reduction in
constituents notably urea and creatinine which the values of cholesterol as HSCM increased in

297 International Journal of AgriScience Vol. 4(6):293-300, June 2014

diets may be attributed to high methionine
concentration of Roselle (1.41%) more than the
value for soybean (0.51%) according to Dashak
and Nwanegbo (2002) and Smith (2001)
respectively. This might have ultimately
improved dietary methionine which has been
implicated to reduce carcass fat in broilers.
Similar report was obtained when Roselle seed
meal was fed to broiler chickens (Kwari et al.,
2010). Hematological and biochemical values
obtained in this work, fall within the range
recommended by Duncan and Prasse, (1986) for
grower pigs.

Table 6: Biochemical values of Growing pigs fed Hibiscus sabdariffa Calyx meal
HSCM Dietary Levels (%)
Parameter 0 2.5 5 7.5 SEM
Urea (ml/dl) 3.05a 3.50a 4.83b 5.30c 1.02
Creatinine (mg/dl) 13.10a 14.17a 13.50b 13.77ab 2.06
Glucose (mg/dl) 31.60a 35.10a 38.83b 40.50b 3.02
a a
Cholesterol (mg/dl) 43.50 43.03 42.70a 42.74a 2.47
a a
Total protein (g/dl) 78.20 80.40 85.30b 89.50c 4.54
Albumin (g/dl) 24.93a 26.03a 28.80ab 30.20b 2.62
Globulin (g/dl) 50.27a 54.37b 56.40b 59.30c 3.71
a, b, c
Mean along the row having different superscripts differs significantly (p<0.05)

Table 7: Carcass/organ characteristics of grower pigs fed varying levels of HSCM based
HSCM Level of inclusion (%)
Parameters 0 2.5 5 7.5 SEM
Live weight (kg) 38.67a 39.23a 40.67b 42.67c` 2.76
Carcass weight (kg) 36.34a 37.33a 38.43b 38.60b 2.66
Dressed weight (kg) 31.81a 33.05bc 31.06a 32.59c 2.49
a b
Dressing % of L/wt 82.26 84.23 76.37c 76.38c 1.13
Body length (cm) 39.67a 39.67a 41.00b 40.67b 3.19
Neck circumference (cm) 19.67a 19.00a 19.00a 20.07a 1.12
a a
Face to snout length (cm) 9.43 9.06 9.50a 10.80b 1.56
Belly (kg) 0.87a 0.96a 0.93a 0.83a 0.12
a a
Boston butt (kg) 1.88 2.03 2.03a 1.87a 0.70
Picnic shoulder (kg) 1.43a 1.57a 1.61a 1.90a 0.64
a a
Ham (kg) 1.87 1.80 1.80a 2.04a 0.69
a a
Spleen % in L/wt 0.18 0.17 0.17a 0.15b 0.01
Heart % in L/wt 0.42a 0.46a 0.47a 0.49a 0.09
a a
Kidney % in L/wt 0.26 0.25 0.27a 0.26a 0.20
Lungs % in L/wt 1.54a 0.51b 0.72b 0.92b 0.20
a b
Liver % in L/wt 1.60 2.35 2.18b 1.81ab 0.70
Intestine % in L/wt 10.24a 10.34a 10.99a 10.64a 0.30
a,b,c
Means with different superscripts on the same row are significantly different (p<0.05). SEM =Standard Error of Mean. L/wt= Live
weight.

CONCLUSION feed cost thereby, increasing the daily animal

Results of the present study indicated that protein intake among Nigerians
HSCM at dietary level of 7.5% fully support
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