Antioxidant and antinutritional potentials of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaf meal on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology of broiler chickens

Antioxidant and antinutritional potentials of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaf meal on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology of broiler chickens | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Antioxidant and antinutritional potentials of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaf meal on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology of broiler chickens oghenebrorhie obakanurhe, Efe Peterson Irikefe-Ekeke, Adimabua Mike Moemeka, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4395324/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Feb, 2025 Read the published version in Tropical Animal Health and Production → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A feed trial on seven hundred- and twenty-day old Cobb-500 strain broilers finisher chickens on substituting sweet potato leaf meal (SPLM) in broiler chicken diets was conducted. In a completely randomized design, the birds were allocated randomly to five (5) diets with 144 birds per treatment and divided into four replicates of thirty-six birds each. Treatment 1 was designated as the control (0% SPLM) while 3.75% SPLM, 7.5% SPLM, 11.25% SPLM and 15% SPLM serve as T2 – T5 respectively. Data were collected on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology which were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. The proximate analysis and phytochemicals in the leaf revealed significant amounts of constituents analysed. The birds blood indices, carcass and organs characteristics on experimental diets recorded significant (p > 0.05) effects on WBC, MCH, MCV, glucose and total cholesterol, live weight, plucked weight and dressed carcass weight values. Treatment 3 had superior carcass values in comparison to the other treatments. The histopathology results recorded significant (p > 0.05) effects at 15%SPLM on the heart and liver respectively but no tissue damage was recorded. Birds on 11.25kg and 15kg SPLM supplemented diets had higher levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (p 0.05) compared to other diets. Also, birds on SPLM supplements showed (p < 0.05) compared to the control. Conclusively, T3 revealed better carcass quality while 15 kg SPLM diet lowers the serum cholesterol concentration, improves the serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities of the chickens, and lowers the cholesterol in the meat. Antioxidants status blood indices broiler chickens carcass histopathology and sweet potato leaf meal 1. Introduction The Nigeria poultry industry has been faced with several constraints such as climate change before the emergency of Corona virus (COVID19) recently is mitigating the industry development. The productivity of this sector in meeting the demands and yearnings of animal protein by the emerging population is far below protein requirement/day as recommended by the WHO. Feed resource utilization mostly of plant origin in poultry production helps elevates the oxygen that ought to be available to the animal which was disrupted by the emerging climate change. The presence of phytochemicals and antioxidants in plant origins used as feed resources also helps enzymatic reactions in the gut morphology of poultry which help to stimulate growth hormones (Akbarian et al. , 2016). Sweet potato is among the exceptional crops whose nutritive potentials have not been fully harnessed in poultry. The plant can adapt to any weather conditions and soil. The tuber has been an energy source to man and animals, the leaves are all most half of the vines biomass. In comparison to other plants, it exhibited a higher leaf area index (LAI). Also, it has significant quantities of protein, energy, amino acids, minerals and vitamins (Islam 2014). Several studies have indicated the vast phytochemicals properties embedded in the leaves, such as antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenesis and thus boost the immunity in humans and animal health (Suarez et al. , 2020; Nurrofingah et al. , 2020). There are various sweet potato varieties grown worldwide and these are differentiated by the flesh colours with varying phytochemical compositions. The unavailability of some feed resources and constantly hike in their prices had affected the demands and supplies of conventional feed resources between man and animals (Adedeji et al. , 2019). The plant leaves are normally discarded during harvest and most are allowed to decay in the farm resulting to environmental pollution. If the plant leaves are properly harnessed and processed, it will be a good protein and energy source in comparison to other forages in poultry diets (Akintomide et al. , 2021). Furthermore, its utilization as natural antioxidant and and nutritional potentials in poultry diets against climate change (high temperature) is still not exploited. The nutritional value of SPLM as a possible substitute in a soybean meal and wheat diets of broiler chickens on their health, carcass and histopathology is determined. 2. Materials and methods The research was conducted between January – February 2023 in the poultry research unit of the Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Nigeria. The poultry house had dwarf walls and netted fully to permit good ventilation and the birds were managed in a deep litter system. The poultry is partition into 20pens of 3m x 2m x 2m respectively with a buffer zone in between the two columns. It is located on Longitude 6 0 Celsius 45’E and Latitude 6 0 Celsius 12’N with average monthly temperatures of the area varying between 27.5 and 32.9 0 Celsius. (Asaba Metrological Station 2019). The various feed ingredients were procured after sampling for good quality grains from the local market in Asaba. The birds were purchased from Sabtech Farms LTD, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The leaves were harvested at 100 days old, at the 12 leaves below the tip of the shoot from the Agronomy Research Farm. The harvested leaves were processed spreading them in the greenhouse to wilt; to preserve the green colouration until the moisture content had almost precipitated out. An electric oven was uses to dry the obtained dried SPLM at 60 0 Celsius/day, ground using a hammer mill and then stored in sacks until its application. The diets were compounded and diet 1, was designated as T1 (0% SPLM); Diet 2 designated as T2 had 3.75% SPLM; Diet 3, contained 7.5% SPLM; Diet 4 (T4) had 11.25% SPLM and Diet 5 (T5) had 15% SPLM (AOAC). The diets metabolizable energy (ME) were determined according to Pauzenga (1985). 2.1 Proximate Analysis Proximate analysis of the test ingredient was evaluate using 1000g of dried sweet potato leaves were pulverized using an electric blender (Philp, Model: 300). The crude protein, crude fibre, ether extracts, ash and nitrogen-free extracts were also estimated using the method used by (Shekhar et al. , 2015) while Ca and P was determined using Plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-MS, 7700X; Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) to evaluated the Ca and P contents and presented via mg mineral/100 g dw sample in the Animal Science Laboratory, Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. 2.2 Phytochemical Analysis The secondary metabolites were examined using phytochemical qualitative reactions. The screening was performed for flavonoids (anthocyanins), saponins, tannins, triterpenes/steroids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins and phenolic acids (Sun et al. , 2014). The method used by (Carvalho et al. , 2010), on anthocyanins, catechins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins of SP leaves. The identification and quantification of these compounds was determined using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (Analytical HPLC was run on a Luna C18 (2) column (100×4.60mm, 3mm, Phenomenex, Torrance, California) combined with a photodiode-array detector. The phenolic compounds were achieved as prostulated by (Sun et al ., 2014). 2.3 Extraction of Polyphenols 70% (v/v) ethanol was used as solvent in extracting the polyphenols from the SPLM according to Sun et al. , 2014. 2.4 Antioxidant Activity According to the procedures used by (Meneses et al. , 2013) DPPH radical (DPPH scavenging activity was deployed. 2mL of DPPH (0.066 mM in 95% ethanol) was mixed with diluted 2mL sample solution for halve an hour under incubation. The resulting absorbance was labelled (A1), a positive control (A1) and a blank control (A2) at 517nm. DPPH scavenging activity was calculated DPPH% = (1 – A1/A2) x 100 Thus, 2.0mL ascorbic acid was designated as positive control at various concentrations from 1.0 to 10.0µg/mL. 100g of dried SPL material (gVcE/100gdw) were expressed as g of ascorbic acid equivalents. Table 1 Experimental diets compositions of broiler chickens finisher Feed ingredients T1 0% SPLM T2 3.75% SPLM T3 7.5% SPLM T4 11.25% SPLM T5 15% SPLM Maize 54.00 54.00 54.00 54.00 54.00 Soybean meal 17.30 13.55 9.80 6.05 2.30 Groundnut cake 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 Fish meal 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Wheat offal 13.00 13.00 13.00 13.00 13.00 SPLM ------- 3.75 7.5 11.25 15.00 Bone meal 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Limestone 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Salt 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 Premix 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 Lysine 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 Methionine 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Calculated values Crude protein (%) 20.18 20.12 20.08 19.91 19.84 Crude fibre (%) 4.45 4.45 4.47 4.49 4.51 Metabolizable energy (kcal/kg) 2880.85 2871.41 2876.83 2878.25 2881.82 Calcium (Ca) 1.05 1.05 1.08 1.10 1.12 Phosphorus (P) 0.76 0.75 0.77 0.80 0.82 Lysine (%) 1.12 1.12 1.15 1.18 1.20 Methionine (%) 0.76 0.74 0.76 0.77 0.79 * Composition of vitamin/mineral premix per kg: Vitamin E, 25mg; Vitamin A, 6250 IU; Vitamin D3,1250 IU; Vitamin K3, 25mg; Vitamin B1, 25mg; Vitamin B2, 60mg; Vitamin B6, 40mg; Vitamin B12, 2mg; Elemental calcium, 25mg; Elemental phosphorus, 9mg; Elemental magnesium, 300mg; Iron, 400mg; Selenium 1.0mg, Iodine 20mg, Copper 60mg, Magnesium 100mg, cobalt 10mg, Zink, 150mg; Sodium Chloride, 1.5mg; Choline Chloride, 500mg; Live Lactobaccillus spore, 0.2 million cfu; Niacin, 40mg; Folic Acid, 10mg; d-Biotin, 5mcg. 720 Cobb-500 broiler chicken finishers were assigned to the treatments randomly, each had 144 chickens. 36 broiler chickens per replicate and each treatment were repeated four times. The study duration was 3 weeks and all nutrients were provided ad-libitum . All experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Delta State University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science (DOU/09/2023) by the guidelines for care and use of animals. The proximate analysis was achieved by crushing the dried 1000g SPL with a hammer mill. Shekhar et al. (2015) procedures were also utilized to calculate crude protein, crude fiber, ash, lipids, and nitrogen-free extracts. Also, Ca and P was determined using Plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-MS, 7700X; Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) and presented via mg mineral/100 g/dw sample. The secondary metabolites were examined using phytochemical qualitative reactions. Screening was done for flavonoids (anthocyanins), saponins, tannins, triterpenes/steroids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins and phenolic acids (Suárez et al. , 2020). The method used by Carvalho et al. , (2010); Jan et al. , (2018) on anthocyanins, catechins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins of SP leaves. The identification and quantification of these compounds was determined using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (Analytical HPLC was run on a Luna C18 (2) column (100×4.60mm, 3mm, Phenomenex, Torrance, California) combined with a photodiode-array detector. The phenolic compounds were achieved as prostulated by Panchal, and Charuben, (2021). 70% (v/v) ethanol was used as solvent in extracting the polyphenols from the SPLM according to Zhao et al. ( 2018). 2.5 Blood Sample Collection and Analysis Blood samples were collected from four birds per treatment at 42 days old to estimate the haematology and serum biochemistry of birds on experimental diets using Beckman Coulter Ac-T10 Laboratory Haematology Blood Analyzer and Bayer DCA 2000 + HbA1c analyzer, respectively. Parameters measured were haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell counts (RBC), white blood cell counts (WBC), haemoglobin (Hb), Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) for haematology while glucose, albumins, globulin, total cholesterol, total protein, urea and creatinine were measured for serum biochemistry. Also, some serum parameters including antioxidant capacity and immune function were analyzed in duplicate according to the manufacturer’s instruction. Assay kits (Beijing Kangjia Bioengineering Company, Beijing, China) were used to analyze the antioxidant capacity, including serum malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Immunoglobulin G (IgG), Immunoglobulin A (IgA) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) were determined using an Immunoglobulin Kit (Huaying Biotechnology Institute, Beijing, China). 2.6 Carcass and Organs Yield Evaluation Birds were selected randomly based on their body weight corresponding to average body weight per replicate at 42 days old. Two bird per replicate (40 birds in all) was randomly selected, starved of feed but provided with water so as to clear their bowel overnight prior to been slaughtered. The birds were slaughtered by cutting the jugular vein to allow proper bleeding and were de-feathered and eviscerated to evaluate their carcasses. The following different cut-up parts; thigh, drumstick, shanks, wings, neck, back, breast and head were weighed and expressed in gram (g) weight. The weight of the proventriculus, small intestine, colon and caecum were also measured and expressed in cm/100g dressed weight. Also, the percentage weight of the organs (DW) of heart, liver, gizzard, pancreas, spleen and abdominal fat were also express in (g). 2.7 Histopathology The vital organs (the hearts and livers) of experimental birds at 6 weeks old were examined. Buffered formalin solution 10% was used to store and preserve these organs for a week before histological analysis. Bouin’s solution (mixture of75 mL of saturated picric acid, 25 mL of 40% formaldehyde and 5 mL of glacial acetic acid) was added to the liver to observe the histological sections for12 hours. These sections were immersed in paraffin using the conventional method and cut into 5nm thick sections, stained with hematoxylin-eosin dye and finally mounted in diphenyl xylene according to Wei et al. , (2016). The sections were then observed under the microscope for histopathological changes in the liver structure and their photomicrographs name/make were taken for the respective dietary treatments. 2.8 Statistical Analysis Using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23, all data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for completely Randomized Design as a One-way classification and Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was used to separate the means. 3. Results Result from the proximate analysis revealed that crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fibre (CF) and ash values were 24.44, 3.75, 17.23 and 8.92 respectively Table 2 . The metabolizable energy of SPLM was 2648.66 ME/Kcal, while phosphorus (P) and calcium (C) content were 0.84 and 0.75 respectively. The phytochemicals present in the SPL revealed some significant amount of flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids compared to moderate quantity of flavonoids, anthraquinons, trypsin, ascorbic acids, phenolic and oxalate. Also, phytate and saponins were partially present Table 2 . Table 2 Proximate analysis and phytochemicals present in sweet potato leaves harvest (mg/g of dw) Parameters Percentage (%) Crude protein 24.44 Crude fibre 17.23 Ether extract 3.75 Ash 8.92 Nitrogen free extracts 45.29 Phosphrus 0.84 Calcium 0.75 Flavonoids 9.26 ± 0.59 Tannins 12.64 ± 0.34 Alkaloids 8.11 ± 0.22 Trypsin 4.03 ± 2.09 Saponins 2.64 ± 5.01 Phytate 0.44 ± 0.92 Anthraqinons 5.26 ± 0.59 The identification of eight polyphenols were revealed showing five CQA derivatives and three flavonoids Table 3 . Table 3 Polyphenolic compounds (Antioxidants) in sweet potato leaves harvested at different periods (mg/g of dw) S/N Identity Sweet potato leaf 1. 5- O -caffeoylquinic acid 3.93 ± 0.34 2. 3- O -caffeoylquinic acid 6.58 ± 0.55 3. Isoquercetin 4.25 ± 0.00 4. Quercetin 1.58 ± 0.04 5. Caffeic Acid 1.74 ± 0.01 6. 3,4,5-tri- O -caffeoylquinic acid 0.43 ± 0.00 7. 3,4-di- O -caffeolyquinic acid 6.26 ± 0.59 8. 3,5-di- O -caffeolyquinic acid 12.64 ± 0.34 The treatments had significant (p > 0.05) effect on the haematological indices measured expect on the WBC, MCH and MCV Table 4 . The birds WBCs on treatment 5 showed (p < 0.05) higher value than the other treatments. The mean corpuscular haemoglobin on treatment 3 was (p < 0.05) higher than treatments 5, 1 and 2, but similar to treatment 4. Results of serological indices measured showed (p < 0.05) only in glucose and total cholesterol of birds on SPLM. Treatment 4 had (p < 0.05) higher glucose value of (104.26g/dl) compared to T1, T2 and T5 but slightly similar to treatment 3 (102.30g/dl). The total cholesterol value of treatment 1 was (p < 0.05) affected compared to higher concentrations. The cholesterol values declined progressively as substituted levels appreciated. The other parameters; albumin, globulin, total protein, urea and creatinine showed (p > 0.05) across treatments. The AST and ALT values recorded showed a progressive decrease as levels of SPLM supplementation increases. Also, the IgA, lgM and lg G, values recorded decreased with higher supplementation, thus these values fall within the threshold on the status of healthy birds. The other parameters determined such as MDA, SOD; T-AOC, GSH-Px and CAT also fall within the range of healthy birds. Table 4 Haematology and serum biochemistry (antioxidant) parameters of broilers fed the experimental diets at 42 days old. Parameters T1 0% SPLM T2 3.75% SPLM T3 7.5% SPLM T4 11.25% SPLM T5 15% SPLM SEM Hb (g/dL) 11.40 11.27 11.27 11.41 11.45 0.05 PCV (%) 27.42 28.14 28.79 28.50 28.19 0.13 RBC (x10 6 /µL) 2.43 2.24 2.33 2.52 2.65 0.04 WBC (x10 3 /µL) 3.89 d 3.86 c 4.14 bc 4.83 b 5.17 a 0.06 MCV (fL) 92.21 cd 87.33 d 95.27 b 98.19 a 93.68 c 1.13 MCH (pg) 42.66 d 44.38 bc 47.04 a 45.60 b 43.74 c 0.90 MCHC (g/dL) 31.26 31.97 32.28 32.46 32.98 0.28 Glucose (g/dl) 97.15 c 98.24 c 102.30 b 104.26 ab 107.12 a 0.40 Albumins (g/dl) 7.24 7.42 7.45 7.39 7.33 0.02 Globulins (g/dl) 12.31 12.34 12.40 12.33 12.14 0.05 Total Cholesterol (mg/dl) 85.34 a 83.43 ab 82.34 b 79.96 c 77.29 c 1.08 Total Protein (g/dl) 19.55 19.76 19.85 19.79 19.47 0.05 Urea(g/dl) 8.43 8.46 8.52 8.40 8.32 0.01 Creatinine (mg/dl) 0.70 0.75 0.79 0.70 0.66 0.02 AST 257.42 a 244.12 b 225.70 c 210.32 d 197.44 e 12.34 ALT 29.21 a 27.40 b 23.11 c 19.81 d 19.02 e 3.06 IgM g/L 0.094 a 0.086 b 0.077 c 0.065 d 0.054 e 0.00 IgA g/L 0.066a 0.062 b 0.055 c 0.048 d 0.042 e 0.07 IgG g/L 0.089 a 0.075 b 0.063 c 0.054 d 0.045 e 0.16 SOD U/mL 41.04b 39.56 d 40.84 c 41.44 ab 42.03 a 0.24 GSH-Px U/mL 106.57 a 97.21 b 89.10 c 72.12 d 57.24 e 0.06 CAT 66.52 a 59.27 b 56.21 c 52.81 d 57.02 c 0.03 T-AOC U/mL 49.02 e 52.07 d 60.12 c 65.22 b 72.41 a 0.02 MDA nmol/mL 2.12 a 2.02 b 1.93 c 1.75 d 1.56 e 0.05 abcd- Means within the row with different superscripts are different at P < 0.05. SEM: Standard error of the mean PVC: Packed cell volume, RBC: Red blood cell counts, WBC: White blood cell counts, Hb: haemoglobin, MCV: Mean corpuscular volume, MCH: Mean corpuscular haemoglobin, MCHC: Mean corpuscular haemoglonin concertration. Ig A, immunoglobulin A; lg M, immunoglobulin M; lg G, immunoglobulin G; MDA, malondialdehyde; SOD; superoxide dismutase; T-AOC, total antioxidant capacity; GSH-Px, glutathione peroxidase Results on carcass characteristics of birds revealed that SPLM diets (p < 0.05) affected the live weight, plucked weight and dressed carcass weight values Table 5 . The plucked weight, dress weight and dress carcass percentage revealed that treatment 3 had superior values in comparison to the other treatments. The organs weights result revealed that the heart, liver and gizzard (expressed in (g) weight) were (p > 0.05) across treatments. It was also observed that as substitution levels of SPLM increased, so was there a subsequent decreased liver weight values. The SPLM diets (p < 0.05) affected the live weight, plucked weight and dressed carcass weight values of birds. It was recorded that increased levels of SPLM showed a sharp declined in the liver weight values Table 5 . The live weight value in treatment 3 (2950.20 kg) was (p < 0.05) superior than the other treatments, where treatment 5 had the least value of 2612.20 kg. Table 5 Carcass Characteristics of Broilers Finisher Fed Experimental Diets at 42 days Parameters T1 0% SPLM T2 3.75% SPLM T3 7.5% SPLM T4 11.25% SPLM T5 15% SPLM SEM Live wt (kg) 2845. 04bc 2880.07 b 2950.12 a 2799.94 c 2750.11 d 15.78 Plucked wt(kg) 2670.92 c 2730.65 b 2801.93 a 2652.61 cd 2612.24 d 6.30 Dress Weight (DW) 2521.43 c 2581.07 b 2652.34 a 2504.12 cd 2464.25 d 6.32 Dress Carcass (%LW) 89.41 89.61 89.91 89.43 89.00 0.23 Eviscerated Carcass wt (g) 2199.64 c 2227.03 b 2292.84 a 2208.45 bc 2185.74 d 5.02 Eviscerated wt (%LW) 78.00 77.32 77.72 78.87 79.48 0.18 Head (g) 6.02 6.28 6.41 6.14 6.19 0.46 Shank (g) 87.12 87.25 91.10 87.24 87.24 0.54 Breast (g) 761.82 c 764.04 b 783.35 a 758.18 d 761.74 c 3.07 Back (g) 581.77 583.01 582.39 581.18 577.40 1.57 Drumstick (g) 211.72 c 213.24 b 214.36 a 212.28 c 210.92 d 1.39 Thigh (g) 219.46 c 225.51 b 240.93 a 217.00 c 214.08 d 1.05 Neck (g) 60.75 62.49 70.37 61.46 60.41 1.22 Wing (g) 218.47 c 231.38 b 249.74 a 232.14 b 213.60 d 2.22 Abdominal Fat (g) 3.56 a 3.50 a 3.40 b 3.33 c 3.14 d 0.05 Organ evaluation Heart (%DW) 16.57 16.43 16.51 16.66 16.28 0.22 Liver (%DW) 47.31 a 46.24 ab 44.79 b 43.63 c 40.75 d 0.40 Gizzard (%DW) 51.07 c 52.45 c 54.20 b 57.24 a 57.43 a 0.59 Pancrease (%DW) 5.32 5.23 5.37 5.47 5.27 0.07 Spleen (%DW) 5.10 5.14 5.07 5.16 5.18 0.07 Colon (cm/100gDW) 20.29 20.37 20.33 21.04 20.43 0.37 Small Intestine (cm/100gDW) 221.88 219.57 221.36 221.14 221.30 0.73 Caecum (cm/100gDW) 20.46 20.34 20.28 20.42 20.58 0.20 Proventiculus (cm/100gDW) 12.27 12.28 12.22 12.52 12.59 0.14 * a,b,c,d: Treatment means with different superscripts within the same row are significantly (P < 0.05) different; SEM = Standard error of mean; NS = Not significant, *= significantly different. SPLM = Sweet potato leaf meal, DW = Dressed Weight, EW = Eviscerated Weight, LW = Live Weight and Dressed Carcass, DC = dress carcass The heart of experimental birds fed SPLM showed no visible lesions (NVL) and had normal cardiomyocyte across treatments. In the liver of experimental birds, the photomicrograph of birds on Treatment 1 showed minimal dissociation of hepatic cords, while there were closely packed hepatic plates in treatment 2. Those on T3 showed a few foci of minimal random single-cell hepatocellular necrosis. Treatment 4 also showed no visible lesions while those on Treatment 5 showed severe diffuse fatty change of hepatocytes with a few normal hepatocytes. 4. Discussion From the proximate and phytochemical analysis results observed in this research, aligned with findings of separate researchers in Brazil and Ethiopia (Pochapski et al. , 2011; Ahmed 2014). The secondary metabolites analysis revealed similar results of some researchers (Mbaeyi-Nwaoha and Emejulu 2013; Nurrofingah et al. , 2020; Suárez et al., 2020). However, the discrepancies observed might be due to environmental factors, age of harvesting and varieties. Accordingly, the phenolic compounds are likely present in significant quantities in SPLM. They have shown free radical scavenging and antioxidant effects, supporting the maintenance of both the integrity of the gastrointestinal system and increasing the permeability exterior of the duodenum and the ileum of broiler chicken (Cardoso, et al. , 2012; Oloruntola et al. , 2021). The CQA compounds are rich in Phenolic labelling them as antioxidant. The polyphenols in sweet potato leaf, especially di-CQA and 3,4,5-triCQA, has significant amounts of antioxidant (Chengcheng et al. , 2020). The haematology indices are a reflection of the animal internal and external environment corresponding to the animal feed and feeding pattern. The birds on SPLM diets did not revealed any alteration in their blood indices; since it has significant antioxidants (3,4,5-tri- O -caffeoylquinic acid and 3,4-di- O -caffeolyquinic acid) and anti-nutritional factors (tannins, alkaloids e. t. c) contents. The slight variations among treatment groups which did not assume any trend may have been due to individual differences observed and could not be accord to the inclusion of SPLM The similarities in the RBC, Hb and PCV components among treatment groups indicates the safety of SPLM on birds, which did not have any negative impact on their physiology, pathology and nutritional status. A decrease RBCs may indicate anaemia, reduced bone-marrow production, and deficiency of iron, over-hydration which could lead to malnutrition, while high counts of RBC showed related to heart, lung and kidney diseases (Nurrofingah et al. , 2020). Dietary treatments had (p > 0.05) effects on haematological indices measured expect WBC, MCH and MCV. The WBC values increased as concentration levels of SPLM increases. This indicated a better immunity of birds on SPLM than T1. Thus, WBC is vital in evaluating the immune response as it acts as a defense mechanism against invading microorganism (Obakanurhe and Okpara 2016; Akintomide et al. , 2021). The significant quantities of the antioxidants and phytochemicals present in SPLM also help to increase the bird’s gut health generally. The experimental birds' consistency on erythrocyte counts across dietary regimens demonstrate proper erythrocyte synthesis, oxygen transport to muscle cells, and subsequent carbon dioxide release to the lungs. The nutritional qualities of SPLM diets further attested to the birds serum total protein, albumin, globulin and glucose results. However, this established that the contents of phytochemicals present in SPLM diets did not precipitate the inadequacy of nutrients which could have created an anaemic condition. The progressive increase in total protein and albumin observed signifies the rich diets qualities, protein synthesis ability and the birds’ health status (Akintomide et al., 2021). Thus, lower levels of total protein and albumin attest to a disorder in the liver and kidney which reflects on the inability of the digestive enzymes to synthesized protein. Serum biochemical analysis is to examine the intensity of heart attack, liver damage, determine the protein and amino acid profile and its utilization in animals. Among the serological indices measured, glucose and total cholesterol showed (p < 0.05) on birds fed SPLM across the various inclusion levels. Also, SPLM had the propensity to reduce and convert chickens meat cholesterol levels into energy that is stored to increase body weight with corresponding lean meat production. The awareness of lean meat consumption in reducing cancerous and heart diseases have been encouraged (SDGs 2018; FAO, 2018). Dietary fibre decreases the absorption of cholesterol from the gut and thus functions in the protection against cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer and obesity in humans (WHO, 2014). It also delays the digestion and conversion of starch to simple sugars, which is important for the management of diabetes mellitus. The other parameters recorded; albumin, globulin, total protein, urea and creatinine were statically (p > 0.05) similar. Also, the increased albumin values in this research suggested that the liver and its extrahepatic tissues that help in protein synthesis are healthy. Aspartate aminotransferase and creatinine concentrations across the various treatments in this investigation were comparable (p > 0.05) Table 4 . Typically, damages associated with the liver are identified by the plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Aspartate aminotransferase concentration remained stable throughout the study's treatments, correlating with a previous finding by Oloruntola, et al. , (2021). This indicated that SPLM had no negetive effects on the birds’ livers. In comparison to the experimental birds fed the control, the birds' blood cholesterol concentration decreases (p 0.05) with increased SPLM supplementation levels. The decrease in serum cholesterol levels reveals that SPLM supplementation on the birds' cholesterol levels showed hypocholesterolemic effects. In consistent with prior findings by Oloruntola, et al. , (2021), the lower serum cholesterol concentration recorded in SPLM supplemented diets in this research could be attributed to 3,4,5-tri- O -caffeoylquinic acid and 3,4-di- O -caffeolyquinic acid, which are known to reduce cholesterol levels by blocking the cholesterol absorption by effectively contending with cholesterol (Poli et al. , 2021). Creatinine levels that are unusually high indicate potential renal failure. However, the consistency observed on creatinine content among the birds exposed to the various dietary regimens in this study suggests that SPLM is safe to take as a nutritional supplement. This finding is consistent with earlier findings that the creatinine levels of birds and rabbits had negligible effects from phytogenic feed ingredients or supplements (Oloruntola, et al. , 2021). Superoxide dismutase is a type of enzyme that speeds up the concurrent oxidation and reduction (dismutation) of two oxygen radicals molecules to hydrogen peroxide and oxygen gas, making them potentially dangerous superoxide anion less dangerous (Ighodaro and Akinloye, 2018). Meanwhile, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) breaks down hydrogen peroxides into water and lipid peroxides into alcohols found in cell's mitochondria and cytosol. Birds fed SPLM supplements had significantly higher levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (p < 0.05) than chickens on T1 (Table 4 ). The flavonoid activities, ferric decreasing the antioxidant characteristics and 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate in SPLM may also be related to the rise of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels in the experimental groups supplemented with SPLM. For example, when flavonoids react with free radicals, the acquired electron is delocalized over the antioxidant phenol and stabilized by the vibration of the aromatic nucleus, which prevents the free radical chain reaction from continuing (Lee, et al. , 2017). The lower cholesterol levels observed in the flesh of the birds given SPLM supplemented diets. Are in consistent with prior results by Thinh et al. (2018), and could be related to the lower plasma cholesterol levels found in the study's birds that were given SPLM supplemented diets. The same or related variables may be to blame for the decreased plasma and meat cholesterol levels. Additionally, tannin, one of the phytochemicals found in SPLM, inhibited gastrointestinal lipid absorption, which thus prevented excessive lipid buildup in the tissues (Thinh et al. , 2018). Mitochondria immunity and immune regulation are the two main components of the immune system. The significant decrease in serum globulin titers (IgG, IgA, and IgM) seen in the current study suggests that chickens grown under heat stress have weakened immune systems. Li et al. (2019) found that heat stress decreased humoral immunity and increased mortality rates. Additionally, SPLM supplementation dramatically raised the IgG, IgA, and IgM levels. According to these observations, heat stress may interfere with the humoral immune response, notably SPLM, preventing HS-mediated Ig production shortage. As a result, the body produces antioxidant enzymes to repair the physiological systems, enabling it to successfully cope with oxidative stress. These enzymes, together with GPx, SOD, and CAT, are crucial components of antioxidant defence mechanisms (Salah et al. , 2019). Our results are consistent with those of Li et al. (2019); Selvam et al. , (2017), who found that heat stress led to the onset of oxidative stress markers in the birds as a result of inadequate floor space, reduced airflow, and overcrowding, high temperature, as shown by the increased MDA and lower activates of GPx, SOD, and CAT in the bird's serum. As an ongoing indicator of oxidative stress, MDA is a critical end product of lipid peroxidation measured (Rahmani et al. , 2017). The serum of the birds used in this experiment had a much lower MDA level than the control. This result could be attributed to antioxidant content of the SPLM which reduces; heat stress, bird competition, and decreases lipid peroxidation. According to Li et al. 2019, on a separate study on curcumin, showed a reduce oxidative stress by enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes that contain GPx, CAT, and SOD (Thomas, 2011). These results on carcass and organ characteristics agreed with previous reports of Beckford and Bartlett (2015) whose values at 10% SPLM in bird’s diets, pre-slaughter weights continued to decline progressively at higher concentrations. The plucked weight, dress weight and dress carcass percentage as reported in Table 5 , revealed that T3 have (p < 0.05) superior values than other treatments. In earlier reports, on broiler chickens, similar results were observed on pre-slaughtered body weight and dress weights in their study, on Moringa oleifera at varying inclusion levels (Onunkwo and George 2015; Worku 2016). Recent research suggests that certain phytochemicals may influence animal metabolism both directly and indirectly by building more muscle. In addition, dietary poisons may cause the weights of the animals' internal organs to diverge from the expected range (Helen et al., 2020; Oloruntola et al. , 2021). In this investigation, the SPLM supplements had no significant impact (p > 0.05) on the birds dressing percentage or their comparative internal organs weights. Data on eviscerated carcass weights was significantly (p > 0.05) affected by the treatments. These can be accredited to the resulting feed intake which is digested and converted to energy stored as weight in the birds. Generally, a balance in the energy to protein base feed resources in poultry for optimum utilization with a corresponding improved body growth performance largely depends on the feed resource (Akpodiete et al., 2014; Onwumelu et al., 2022). The diets have no (p > 0.05) on the head, shank, neck and back of birds. The breast, thigh, drum stick and wings values recorded significant (p 0.05) at 42 days of age. Also, the polyphenolic compounds in SPLM reduced the abdominal fat content of birds by converting it into tissue and energy which resulted in the birds increased bodyweight (Anbuselvi and Balamurugan 2014). In earlier reports, increased quantities of the test ingredients showed a subsequent abdominal fat decreased of birds (Diarra et al. , 2017; Foluke et al. , 2018). In the latter study on the possible replacement of fish meal with duckweed meal (DWM) in broiler chickens diets up to 100%; the abdominal fat values reduced as the concentration of DWM increased. These authors opined that the reduction in abdominal fat might have been accredited to the phytochemical properties of duck weed. The consistency observed in the dressed percentage and the corresponding weights of the chicken's internal organs (liver, heart, kidney, and gizzard) during this feeding trial suggests that the dietary supplement used in this study promotes the well-being of the animal's edible portions and internal organs. This finding/observation implies that the birds' relative lung weights were not adversely impacted by the feeding therapy. The resulting decrease of liver weight values is due to (anti-nutritional factors) tannin and flavonoids effects that are largely present in SPLM (Akintomide et al. , 2021). However, the presence of these anti-nutritional factors in significant quantities helped to reduce the digestive enzymes there-by overworking the liver and other vital organs in the birds. A similar trend in gizzard weights was also observed; and ranged from 51.07% – 57.43%. These results are in consistent with Beckford and Bartlett (2015). This can be attributed to the fibre content of the diet whereby it stimulates feed intake and its subsequent utilization of SPLM to energy (Beckford and Bartlett 2015; Diarra et al., 2017; Sameh et al., 2018). Results on pancreas, spleen, colon, small intestine, caecum and proventriculus were (p < 0.05) affected across the diets. This also clearly established that birds on SPLM were not negatively affected generally since no nutritional imbalance of diets was recorded. The histopathology of the heart and liver of the experimental birds fed SPLM showed that an increased in the inclusion levels, the fatty lesions were not as visible compared to T1 and T2 respectively. The study’s liver histology is in consistence with Wei et al. (2016) that conducted a study on 360; (27 weeks) old layers where Moringa oleifera was supplemented in a corn-soybean meal diet up to 15% MOLM. In this research, as the addition level of SPLM progresses, the visible legion, fatty cells changed and its appearances declined. However, birds fed 11.25% SPLM and 15% SPLM showed large numbers of lipid droplets and fatty liver cell counts. There are several activities the liver performs in broilers chickens such as metabolic functions, waste products and worn-out cells from blood vessels, nutrient detoxification (neutralizes toxins), aids protein synthesis and production of bile for fat digestion and the removal of toxins through the (GIT) (Ghebreselassie et al., 2011). However, exposure of the liver to therapeutic or sub-therapeutic higher levels of some medicines could cause liver injures (Adeyeye et al., 2019; Akintomide et al., 2021). Results on the heart histology of birds on 0% SPLM and 3.75% SPLM showed insignificant and closely packed visible lesions, no visible changes in appearance, fatty cells and normal cardiomyocytes. Also, Wei et al. (2016) revealed that at increased levels up to 15% SPLM showed significant spaces of the lesion which were more visible pathologically in comparison to the T1 and T2. The differences observed could be accredited to the antioxidant content (flavonoids) and the anti-nutritional factors such as (saponins) in the test diet that resulted in the changes in appearance, fatty cell counts, spore spaces of loci in the heart of birds on SPLM (Anbuselvi and Balamurugan 2014; Funmilayo and Ayodele 2016; Adeyeye et al., 2019). 5. Conclusion The presence of antioxidant and anti-nutritional factors in SPLM significantly increases the general gut health status. This clearly reflected on the blood indices and carcass cuts parameters of birds on experimental diets. The lean meat produced could be accredited to the (polyphenolic compounds) present in SPLM; that converted the abdominal fat into body tissues. However, birds on dietary treatments revealed no negative impact on the histopathology of the heart and liver. The study recommended that broiler chickens could be fed up to 15%SPLM diet without any deteriorating effects but rather improved the general performance and good quality meat. Declarations Author contributions Obakanurhe Oghenebrorhie: Conceptualization, data curation, software, investigation, writing. Irikefe-Ekeke Efe Peterson and Obakanurhe Oghenebrorhie: Conceptualization, supervision, software, formal analysis, validation, visualization, writing - review & editing. Obakanurhe Oghenebrorhie, Onwumelu, Ifeoma Jane and Sanubi, Jovita Oghenenyerhovwo: Validation, visualization, writing - original draft. Obakanurhe Oghenebrorhie, Irikefe-Ekeke, Efe Peterson, Moemeka, Adimabua Mike: Conceptualization, project administration, methodology, resources, supervision, software, formal analysis, validation, visualization, writing - original draft, writing - review & editing. Acknowledgment I hereby acknowledge the Animal Science Laboratory Staff of Delta State University, Asaba Campus for their support and the conducive environment in carrying out this research. All authors declared no conflict of interest. Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Nigeria. The Animal Production Research Ethics Committee (Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, Nigeria) approved (DOU-02021-A12) the protocols used in this research. Funding There was no funding received. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4395324","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":303300904,"identity":"3ff028a9-df59-4969-860e-4e95d2a045d7","order_by":0,"name":"oghenebrorhie obakanurhe","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7031-0720","institution":"Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"oghenebrorhie","middleName":"","lastName":"obakanurhe","suffix":""},{"id":303300905,"identity":"78b88f47-7af4-4867-b635-35fe8aebba2f","order_by":1,"name":"Efe Peterson Irikefe-Ekeke","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Efe","middleName":"Peterson","lastName":"Irikefe-Ekeke","suffix":""},{"id":303300906,"identity":"aaa5fba7-fb0c-4d06-8707-b37a0d5d24b4","order_by":2,"name":"Adimabua Mike Moemeka","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Adimabua","middleName":"Mike","lastName":"Moemeka","suffix":""},{"id":303300907,"identity":"6361ddc4-8268-49eb-a0bb-07946c60f15f","order_by":3,"name":"Ifeoma Jane Onwumelu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dennis Osadebay Univeristy, Asaba","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ifeoma","middleName":"Jane","lastName":"Onwumelu","suffix":""},{"id":303300908,"identity":"e4a0d21d-b5d6-46f0-a734-17fc451e64bf","order_by":4,"name":"Oghenenyerhovwo Jovita Sanubi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oghenenyerhovwo","middleName":"Jovita","lastName":"Sanubi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-05-09 13:02:40","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4395324/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4395324/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-025-04299-6","type":"published","date":"2025-02-10T15:57:23+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":76487683,"identity":"afdd4019-dd3f-4017-9bfe-bd16fc1a7786","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-02-17 16:11:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1190304,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4395324/v1/a77fac28-43e1-49b2-8c0a-a5973ba3877a.pdf"},{"id":57197334,"identity":"d652e765-42ae-4677-862b-58e9b93f08f4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-27 09:05:02","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":460908,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Plates.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4395324/v1/17bd657b4c76a63016b9cb7e.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Antioxidant and antinutritional potentials of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaf meal on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology of broiler chickens","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Nigeria poultry industry has been faced with several constraints such as climate change before the emergency of Corona virus (COVID19) recently is mitigating the industry development. The productivity of this sector in meeting the demands and yearnings of animal protein by the emerging population is far below protein requirement/day as recommended by the WHO. Feed resource utilization mostly of plant origin in poultry production helps elevates the oxygen that ought to be available to the animal which was disrupted by the emerging climate change. The presence of phytochemicals and antioxidants in plant origins used as feed resources also helps enzymatic reactions in the gut morphology of poultry which help to stimulate growth hormones (Akbarian \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2016).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSweet potato is among the exceptional crops whose nutritive potentials have not been fully harnessed in poultry. The plant can adapt to any weather conditions and soil. The tuber has been an energy source to man and animals, the leaves are all most half of the vines biomass. In comparison to other plants, it exhibited a higher leaf area index (LAI). Also, it has significant quantities of protein, energy, amino acids, minerals and vitamins (Islam 2014). Several studies have indicated the vast phytochemicals properties embedded in the leaves, such as antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenesis and thus boost the immunity in humans and animal health (Suarez \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020; Nurrofingah \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020). There are various sweet potato varieties grown worldwide and these are differentiated by the flesh colours with varying phytochemical compositions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe unavailability of some feed resources and constantly hike in their prices had affected the demands and supplies of conventional feed resources between man and animals (Adedeji \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019). The plant leaves are normally discarded during harvest and most are allowed to decay in the farm resulting to environmental pollution. If the plant leaves are properly harnessed and processed, it will be a good protein and energy source in comparison to other forages in poultry diets (Akintomide \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021). Furthermore, its utilization as natural antioxidant and and nutritional potentials in poultry diets against climate change (high temperature) is still not exploited. The nutritional value of SPLM as a possible substitute in a soybean meal and wheat diets of broiler chickens on their health, carcass and histopathology is determined.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Materials and methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe research was conducted between January \u0026ndash; February 2023 in the poultry research unit of the Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Nigeria. The poultry house had dwarf walls and netted fully to permit good ventilation and the birds were managed in a deep litter system. The poultry is partition into 20pens of 3m x 2m x 2m respectively with a buffer zone in between the two columns. It is located on Longitude 6\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eCelsius 45\u0026rsquo;E and Latitude 6\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eCelsius 12\u0026rsquo;N with average monthly temperatures of the area varying between 27.5 and 32.9\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eCelsius. (Asaba Metrological Station 2019).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe various feed ingredients were procured after sampling for good quality grains from the local market in Asaba. The birds were purchased from Sabtech Farms LTD, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe leaves were harvested at 100 days old, at the 12 leaves below the tip of the shoot from the Agronomy Research Farm. The harvested leaves were processed spreading them in the greenhouse to wilt; to preserve the green colouration until the moisture content had almost precipitated out. An electric oven was uses to dry the obtained dried SPLM at 60 \u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eCelsius/day, ground using a hammer mill and then stored in sacks until its application.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe diets were compounded and diet 1, was designated as T1 (0% SPLM); Diet 2 designated as T2 had 3.75% SPLM; Diet 3, contained 7.5% SPLM; Diet 4 (T4) had 11.25% SPLM and Diet 5 (T5) had 15% SPLM (AOAC). The diets metabolizable energy (ME) were determined according to Pauzenga (1985).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.1 Proximate Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProximate analysis of the test ingredient was evaluate using 1000g of dried sweet potato leaves were pulverized using an electric blender (Philp, Model: 300). The crude protein, crude fibre, ether extracts, ash and nitrogen-free extracts were also estimated using the method used by (Shekhar \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2015) while Ca and P was determined using Plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-MS, 7700X; Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) to evaluated the Ca and P contents and presented via mg mineral/100 g dw sample in the Animal Science Laboratory, Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.2 \u003cem\u003ePhytochemical Analysis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe secondary metabolites were examined using phytochemical qualitative reactions. The screening was performed for flavonoids (anthocyanins), saponins, tannins, triterpenes/steroids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins and phenolic acids (Sun \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2014). The method used by (Carvalho \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2010), on anthocyanins, catechins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins of SP leaves. The identification and quantification of these compounds was determined using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (Analytical HPLC was run on a Luna C18 (2) column (100\u0026times;4.60mm, 3mm, Phenomenex, Torrance, California) combined with a photodiode-array detector. The phenolic compounds were achieved as prostulated by (Sun \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2014).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.3 \u003cem\u003eExtraction of Polyphenols\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70% (v/v) ethanol was used as solvent in extracting the polyphenols from the SPLM according to Sun \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2014.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.4 Antioxidant Activity\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to the procedures used by (Meneses \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2013) DPPH radical (DPPH scavenging activity was deployed. 2mL of DPPH (0.066 mM in 95% ethanol) was mixed with diluted 2mL sample solution for halve an hour under incubation. The resulting absorbance was labelled (A1), a positive control (A1) and a blank control (A2) at 517nm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDPPH scavenging activity was calculated\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDPPH% = (1 \u0026ndash; A1/A2) x 100\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThus, 2.0mL ascorbic acid was designated as positive control at various concentrations from 1.0 to 10.0\u0026micro;g/mL. 100g of dried SPL material (gVcE/100gdw) were expressed as g of ascorbic acid equivalents.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExperimental diets compositions of broiler chickens finisher\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFeed ingredients\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0% SPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT2 3.75% SPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.5% SPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.25% SPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15% SPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaize\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSoybean meal\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17.30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.55\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9.80\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGroundnut cake\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFish meal\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWheat offal\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-------\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBone meal\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLimestone\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSalt\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePremix\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLysine\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethionine\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e100.00\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e100.00\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e100.00\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e100.00\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e100.00\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"6\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCalculated values\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrude protein (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.08\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.91\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.84\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrude fibre (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.47\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.49\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.51\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMetabolizable energy (kcal/kg)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2880.85\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2871.41\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2876.83\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2878.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2881.82\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCalcium (Ca)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.08\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhosphorus (P)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.80\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.82\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLysine (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethionine (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.74\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"1\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;0.79\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e* Composition of vitamin/mineral premix per kg: Vitamin E, 25mg; Vitamin A, 6250 IU; Vitamin D3,1250 IU; Vitamin K3, 25mg; Vitamin B1, 25mg; Vitamin B2, 60mg; Vitamin B6, 40mg; Vitamin B12, 2mg; Elemental calcium, 25mg; Elemental phosphorus, 9mg; Elemental magnesium, 300mg; Iron, 400mg; Selenium 1.0mg, Iodine 20mg, Copper 60mg, Magnesium 100mg, cobalt 10mg, Zink, 150mg; Sodium Chloride, 1.5mg; Choline Chloride, 500mg; Live Lactobaccillus spore, 0.2\u0026nbsp;million cfu; Niacin, 40mg; Folic Acid, 10mg; d-Biotin, 5mcg.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e720 Cobb-500 broiler chicken finishers were assigned to the treatments randomly, each had 144 chickens. 36 broiler chickens per replicate and each treatment were repeated four times. The study duration was 3 weeks and all nutrients were provided \u003cem\u003ead-libitum\u003c/em\u003e. All experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Delta State University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science (DOU/09/2023) by the guidelines for care and use of animals.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe proximate analysis was achieved by crushing the dried 1000g SPL with a hammer mill. Shekhar \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2015) procedures were also utilized to calculate crude protein, crude fiber, ash, lipids, and nitrogen-free extracts. Also, Ca and P was determined using Plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-MS, 7700X; Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) and presented via mg mineral/100 g/dw sample.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe secondary metabolites were examined using phytochemical qualitative reactions. Screening was done for flavonoids (anthocyanins), saponins, tannins, triterpenes/steroids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins and phenolic acids (Su\u0026aacute;rez \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020). The method used by Carvalho \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, (2010); Jan \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, (2018) on anthocyanins, catechins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins of SP leaves. The identification and quantification of these compounds was determined using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (Analytical HPLC was run on a Luna C18 (2) column (100\u0026times;4.60mm, 3mm, Phenomenex, Torrance, California) combined with a photodiode-array detector. The phenolic compounds were achieved as prostulated by Panchal, and Charuben, (2021). 70% (v/v) ethanol was used as solvent in extracting the polyphenols from the SPLM according to Zhao \u003cem\u003eet al. (\u003c/em\u003e2018).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.5 \u003cem\u003eBlood Sample Collection and Analysis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlood samples were collected from four birds per treatment at 42 days old to estimate the haematology and serum biochemistry of birds on experimental diets using Beckman Coulter Ac-T10 Laboratory Haematology Blood Analyzer and Bayer DCA 2000\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;HbA1c analyzer, respectively. Parameters measured were haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell counts (RBC), white blood cell counts (WBC), haemoglobin (Hb), Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) for haematology while glucose, albumins, globulin, total cholesterol, total protein, urea and creatinine were measured for serum biochemistry. Also, some serum parameters including antioxidant capacity and immune function were analyzed in duplicate according to the manufacturer\u0026rsquo;s instruction. Assay kits (Beijing Kangjia Bioengineering Company, Beijing, China) were used to analyze the antioxidant capacity, including serum malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Immunoglobulin G (IgG), Immunoglobulin A (IgA) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) were determined using an Immunoglobulin Kit (Huaying Biotechnology Institute, Beijing, China).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.6 \u003cem\u003eCarcass and Organs Yield Evaluation\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBirds were selected randomly based on their body weight corresponding to average body weight per replicate at 42 days old. Two bird per replicate (40 birds in all) was randomly selected, starved of feed but provided with water so as to clear their bowel overnight prior to been slaughtered. The birds were slaughtered by cutting the jugular vein to allow proper bleeding and were de-feathered and eviscerated to evaluate their carcasses. The following different cut-up parts; thigh, drumstick, shanks, wings, neck, back, breast and head were weighed and expressed in gram (g) weight. The weight of the proventriculus, small intestine, colon and caecum were also measured and expressed in cm/100g dressed weight. Also, the percentage weight of the organs (DW) of heart, liver, gizzard, pancreas, spleen and abdominal fat were also express in (g).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.7 \u003cem\u003eHistopathology\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vital organs (the hearts and livers) of experimental birds at 6 weeks old were examined. Buffered formalin solution 10% was used to store and preserve these organs for a week before histological analysis. Bouin\u0026rsquo;s solution (mixture of75 mL of saturated picric acid, 25 mL of 40% formaldehyde and 5 mL of glacial acetic acid) was added to the liver to observe the histological sections for12 hours. These sections were immersed in paraffin using the conventional method and cut into 5nm thick sections, stained with hematoxylin-eosin dye and finally mounted in diphenyl xylene according to Wei \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, (2016). The sections were then observed under the microscope for histopathological changes in the liver structure and their photomicrographs name/make were taken for the respective dietary treatments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.8 \u003cem\u003eStatistical Analysis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23, all data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for completely Randomized Design as a One-way classification and Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was used to separate the means.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eResult from the proximate analysis revealed that crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fibre (CF) and ash values were 24.44, 3.75, 17.23 and 8.92 respectively Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. The metabolizable energy of SPLM was 2648.66 ME/Kcal, while phosphorus (P) and calcium (C) content were 0.84 and 0.75 respectively. The phytochemicals present in the SPL revealed some significant amount of flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids compared to moderate quantity of flavonoids, anthraquinons, trypsin, ascorbic acids, phenolic and oxalate. Also, phytate and saponins were partially present Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProximate analysis and phytochemicals present in sweet potato leaves harvest (mg/g of dw)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParameters\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePercentage (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrude protein\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e24.44\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrude fibre\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17.23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEther extract\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAsh\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.92\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNitrogen free extracts\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e45.29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhosphrus\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.84\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCalcium\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlavonoids\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e9.26\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTannins\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e12.64\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.34\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlkaloids\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e8.11\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrypsin\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e4.03\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.09\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSaponins\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e2.64\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;5.01\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhytate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e0.44\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.92\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnthraqinons\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e5.26\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe identification of eight polyphenols were revealed showing five CQA derivatives and three flavonoids Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePolyphenolic compounds (Antioxidants) in sweet potato leaves harvested at different periods (mg/g of dw)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eS/N\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdentity\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSweet potato leaf\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeoylquinic acid\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.93\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.34\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeoylquinic acid\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.58\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.55\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIsoquercetin\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.25\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.00\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuercetin\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.58\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCaffeic Acid\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.74\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.01\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3,4,5-tri-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeoylquinic acid\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.43\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.00\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3,4-di-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeolyquinic acid\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.26\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.59\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3,5-di-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeolyquinic acid\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.64\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.34\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe treatments had significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) effect on the haematological indices measured expect on the WBC, MCH and MCV Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. The birds WBCs on treatment 5 showed (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) higher value than the other treatments. The mean corpuscular haemoglobin on treatment 3 was (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) higher than treatments 5, 1 and 2, but similar to treatment 4. Results of serological indices measured showed (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) only in glucose and total cholesterol of birds on SPLM. Treatment 4 had (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) higher glucose value of (104.26g/dl) compared to T1, T2 and T5 but slightly similar to treatment 3 (102.30g/dl). The total cholesterol value of treatment 1 was (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) affected compared to higher concentrations. The cholesterol values declined progressively as substituted levels appreciated. The other parameters; albumin, globulin, total protein, urea and creatinine showed (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) across treatments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe AST and ALT values recorded showed a progressive decrease as levels of SPLM supplementation increases. Also, the IgA, lgM and lg G, values recorded decreased with higher supplementation, thus these values fall within the threshold on the status of healthy birds. The other parameters determined such as MDA, SOD; T-AOC, GSH-Px and CAT also fall within the range of healthy birds.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaematology and serum biochemistry (antioxidant) parameters of broilers fed the experimental diets at 42 days old.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParameters\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.75%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.5%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.25%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSEM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHb (g/dL)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.41\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePCV (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28.79\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28.50\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28.19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRBC (x10\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e/\u0026micro;L)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.52\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.65\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWBC (x10\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e/\u0026micro;L)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.89\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.86\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.14\u003csup\u003ebc\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.83\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.17\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMCV (fL)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e92.21\u003csup\u003ecd\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e87.33\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e95.27\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e98.19\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e93.68\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMCH (pg)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e42.66\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e44.38\u003csup\u003ebc\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e47.04\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e45.60\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43.74\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.90\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMCHC (g/dL)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e31.26\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e31.97\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e32.28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e32.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e32.98\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlucose (g/dl)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e97.15\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e98.24\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e102.30\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e104.26\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e107.12\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlbumins (g/dl)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.39\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlobulins (g/dl)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.31\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.34\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTotal Cholesterol (mg/dl)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85.34\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e83.43\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e82.34\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e79.96\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e77.29\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.08\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTotal Protein (g/dl)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.55\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.85\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.79\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.47\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUrea(g/dl)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.52\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCreatinine (mg/dl)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.79\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.66\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAST\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e257.42\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e244.12\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e225.70\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e210.32\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e197.44\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.34\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eALT\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e29.21\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27.40\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e23.11\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.81\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19.02\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.06\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIgM g/L\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.094\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.086\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.077\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.065\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.054\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIgA g/L\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.066a\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.062\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.055\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.048\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.042\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIgG g/L\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.089\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.075\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.063\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.054\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.045\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSOD U/mL\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e41.04b\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e39.56\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e40.84\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e41.44\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e42.03\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGSH-Px U/mL\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e106.57\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e97.21\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e89.10\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e72.12\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e57.24\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCAT\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e66.52\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e59.27\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e56.21\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e52.81\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e57.02\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT-AOC U/mL\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e49.02\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e52.07\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e60.12\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e65.22\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e72.41\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMDA nmol/mL\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.12\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.02\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.93\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.75\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.56\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003ctfoot\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eabcd- Means within the row with different superscripts are different at P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05. SEM: Standard error of the mean PVC: Packed cell volume, RBC: Red blood cell counts, WBC: White blood cell counts, Hb: haemoglobin, MCV: Mean corpuscular volume, MCH: Mean corpuscular haemoglobin, MCHC: Mean corpuscular haemoglonin concertration. Ig A, immunoglobulin A; lg M, immunoglobulin M; lg G, immunoglobulin G; MDA, malondialdehyde; SOD; superoxide dismutase; T-AOC, total antioxidant capacity; GSH-Px, glutathione peroxidase\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tfoot\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults on carcass characteristics of birds revealed that SPLM diets (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) affected the live weight, plucked weight and dressed carcass weight values Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. The plucked weight, dress weight and dress carcass percentage revealed that treatment 3 had superior values in comparison to the other treatments. The organs weights result revealed that the heart, liver and gizzard (expressed in (g) weight) were (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) across treatments. It was also observed that as substitution levels of SPLM increased, so was there a subsequent decreased liver weight values. The SPLM diets (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) affected the live weight, plucked weight and dressed carcass weight values of birds. It was recorded that increased levels of SPLM showed a sharp declined in the liver weight values Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. The live weight value in treatment 3 (2950.20 kg) was (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) superior than the other treatments, where treatment 5 had the least value of 2612.20 kg.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCarcass Characteristics of Broilers Finisher Fed Experimental Diets at 42 days\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParameters\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.75%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.5%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11.25%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSPLM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSEM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLive wt (kg)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2845.\u003csup\u003e04bc\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2880.07\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2950.12\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2799.94\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2750.11\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15.78\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlucked wt(kg)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2670.92\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2730.65\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2801.93\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2652.61\u003csup\u003ecd\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2612.24\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDress Weight (DW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2521.43\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2581.07\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2652.34\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2504.12\u003csup\u003ecd\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2464.25\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDress Carcass (%LW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e89.41\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e89.61\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e89.91\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e89.43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e89.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEviscerated Carcass wt (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2199.64\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2227.03\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2292.84\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2208.45\u003csup\u003ebc\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2185.74\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.02\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEviscerated wt (%LW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e78.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e77.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e77.72\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e78.87\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e79.48\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHead (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.02\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.41\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShank (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e87.12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e87.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e91.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e87.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e87.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBreast (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e761.82\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e764.04\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e783.35\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e758.18\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e761.74\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.07\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e581.77\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e583.01\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e582.39\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e581.18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e577.40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.57\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrumstick (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e211.72\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e213.24\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e214.36\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e212.28\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e210.92\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.39\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThigh (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e219.46\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e225.51\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e240.93\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e217.00\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e214.08\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNeck (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e60.75\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e62.49\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70.37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e61.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e60.41\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWing (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e218.47\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e231.38\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e249.74\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e232.14\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e213.60\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbdominal Fat (g)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.56\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.50\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.40\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.33\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.14\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrgan evaluation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeart (%DW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16.57\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16.43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16.51\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16.66\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16.28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiver (%DW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e47.31\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e46.24\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e44.79\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43.63\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e40.75\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGizzard (%DW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e51.07\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e52.45\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54.20\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e57.24\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e57.43\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePancrease (%DW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.47\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpleen (%DW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.07\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.16\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eColon (cm/100gDW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e21.04\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmall Intestine (cm/100gDW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e221.88\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e219.57\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e221.36\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e221.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e221.30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.73\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCaecum (cm/100gDW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.34\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.58\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProventiculus (cm/100gDW)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.52\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003ctfoot\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e* a,b,c,d: Treatment means with different superscripts within the same row are significantly (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) different; SEM\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Standard error of mean; NS\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Not significant, *= significantly different. SPLM\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Sweet potato leaf meal, DW\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Dressed Weight, EW\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Eviscerated Weight, LW\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Live Weight and Dressed Carcass, DC\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;dress carcass\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tfoot\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe heart of experimental birds fed SPLM showed no visible lesions (NVL) and had normal cardiomyocyte across treatments. In the liver of experimental birds, the photomicrograph of birds on Treatment 1 showed minimal dissociation of hepatic cords, while there were closely packed hepatic plates in treatment 2. Those on T3 showed a few foci of minimal random single-cell hepatocellular necrosis. Treatment 4 also showed no visible lesions while those on Treatment 5 showed severe diffuse fatty change of hepatocytes with a few normal hepatocytes.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the proximate and phytochemical analysis results observed in this research, aligned with findings of separate researchers in Brazil and Ethiopia (Pochapski \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2011; Ahmed 2014). The secondary metabolites analysis revealed similar results of some researchers (Mbaeyi-Nwaoha and Emejulu 2013; Nurrofingah \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020; Su\u0026aacute;rez et al., 2020). However, the discrepancies observed might be due to environmental factors, age of harvesting and varieties.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccordingly, the phenolic compounds are likely present in significant quantities in SPLM. They have shown free radical scavenging and antioxidant effects, supporting the maintenance of both the integrity of the gastrointestinal system and increasing the permeability exterior of the duodenum and the ileum of broiler chicken (Cardoso, \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2012; Oloruntola \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021). The CQA compounds are rich in Phenolic labelling them as antioxidant. The polyphenols in sweet potato leaf, especially di-CQA and 3,4,5-triCQA, has significant amounts of antioxidant (Chengcheng \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe haematology indices are a reflection of the animal internal and external environment corresponding to the animal feed and feeding pattern. The birds on SPLM diets did not revealed any alteration in their blood indices; since it has significant antioxidants (3,4,5-tri-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,4-di-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeolyquinic acid) and anti-nutritional factors (tannins, alkaloids e. t. c) contents. The slight variations among treatment groups which did not assume any trend may have been due to individual differences observed and could not be accord to the inclusion of SPLM\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe similarities in the RBC, Hb and PCV components among treatment groups indicates the safety of SPLM on birds, which did not have any negative impact on their physiology, pathology and nutritional status. A decrease RBCs may indicate anaemia, reduced bone-marrow production, and deficiency of iron, over-hydration which could lead to malnutrition, while high counts of RBC showed related to heart, lung and kidney diseases (Nurrofingah \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020). Dietary treatments had (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) effects on haematological indices measured expect WBC, MCH and MCV. The WBC values increased as concentration levels of SPLM increases. This indicated a better immunity of birds on SPLM than T1. Thus, WBC is vital in evaluating the immune response as it acts as a defense mechanism against invading microorganism (Obakanurhe and Okpara 2016; Akintomide \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021). The significant quantities of the antioxidants and phytochemicals present in SPLM also help to increase the bird\u0026rsquo;s gut health generally.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe experimental birds' consistency on erythrocyte counts across dietary regimens demonstrate proper erythrocyte synthesis, oxygen transport to muscle cells, and subsequent carbon dioxide release to the lungs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe nutritional qualities of SPLM diets further attested to the birds serum total protein, albumin, globulin and glucose results. However, this established that the contents of phytochemicals present in SPLM diets did not precipitate the inadequacy of nutrients which could have created an anaemic condition. The progressive increase in total protein and albumin observed signifies the rich diets qualities, protein synthesis ability and the birds\u0026rsquo; health status (Akintomide et al., 2021). Thus, lower levels of total protein and albumin attest to a disorder in the liver and kidney which reflects on the inability of the digestive enzymes to synthesized protein.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSerum biochemical analysis is to examine the intensity of heart attack, liver damage, determine the protein and amino acid profile and its utilization in animals. Among the serological indices measured, glucose and total cholesterol showed (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) on birds fed SPLM across the various inclusion levels.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlso, SPLM had the propensity to reduce and convert chickens meat cholesterol levels into energy that is stored to increase body weight with corresponding lean meat production. The awareness of lean meat consumption in reducing cancerous and heart diseases have been encouraged (SDGs 2018; FAO, 2018). Dietary fibre decreases the absorption of cholesterol from the gut and thus functions in the protection against cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer and obesity in humans (WHO, 2014). It also delays the digestion and conversion of starch to simple sugars, which is important for the management of diabetes mellitus.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe other parameters recorded; albumin, globulin, total protein, urea and creatinine were statically (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) similar. Also, the increased albumin values in this research suggested that the liver and its extrahepatic tissues that help in protein synthesis are healthy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAspartate aminotransferase and creatinine concentrations across the various treatments in this investigation were comparable (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. Typically, damages associated with the liver are identified by the plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Aspartate aminotransferase concentration remained stable throughout the study's treatments, correlating with a previous finding by Oloruntola, \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, (2021). This indicated that SPLM had no negetive effects on the birds\u0026rsquo; livers. In comparison to the experimental birds fed the control, the birds' blood cholesterol concentration decreases (p 0.05) with increased SPLM supplementation levels. The decrease in serum cholesterol levels reveals that SPLM supplementation on the birds' cholesterol levels showed hypocholesterolemic effects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn consistent with prior findings by Oloruntola, \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, (2021), the lower serum cholesterol concentration recorded in SPLM supplemented diets in this research could be attributed to 3,4,5-tri-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,4-di-\u003cem\u003eO\u003c/em\u003e-caffeolyquinic acid, which are known to reduce cholesterol levels by blocking the cholesterol absorption by effectively contending with cholesterol (Poli \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021). Creatinine levels that are unusually high indicate potential renal failure. However, the consistency observed on creatinine content among the birds exposed to the various dietary regimens in this study suggests that SPLM is safe to take as a nutritional supplement. This finding is consistent with earlier findings that the creatinine levels of birds and rabbits had negligible effects from phytogenic feed ingredients or supplements (Oloruntola, \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSuperoxide dismutase is a type of enzyme that speeds up the concurrent oxidation and reduction (dismutation) of two oxygen radicals molecules to hydrogen peroxide and oxygen gas, making them potentially dangerous superoxide anion less dangerous (Ighodaro and Akinloye, 2018). Meanwhile, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) breaks down hydrogen peroxides into water and lipid peroxides into alcohols found in cell's mitochondria and cytosol. Birds fed SPLM supplements had significantly higher levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) than chickens on T1 (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe flavonoid activities, ferric decreasing the antioxidant characteristics and 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate in SPLM may also be related to the rise of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels in the experimental groups supplemented with SPLM. For example, when flavonoids react with free radicals, the acquired electron is delocalized over the antioxidant phenol and stabilized by the vibration of the aromatic nucleus, which prevents the free radical chain reaction from continuing (Lee, \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2017).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe lower cholesterol levels observed in the flesh of the birds given SPLM supplemented diets. Are in consistent with prior results by Thinh \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2018), and could be related to the lower plasma cholesterol levels found in the study's birds that were given SPLM supplemented diets. The same or related variables may be to blame for the decreased plasma and meat cholesterol levels. Additionally, tannin, one of the phytochemicals found in SPLM, inhibited gastrointestinal lipid absorption, which thus prevented excessive lipid buildup in the tissues (Thinh \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMitochondria immunity and immune regulation are the two main components of the immune system. The significant decrease in serum globulin titers (IgG, IgA, and IgM) seen in the current study suggests that chickens grown under heat stress have weakened immune systems. Li \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2019) found that heat stress decreased humoral immunity and increased mortality rates. Additionally, SPLM supplementation dramatically raised the IgG, IgA, and IgM levels.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to these observations, heat stress may interfere with the humoral immune response, notably SPLM, preventing HS-mediated Ig production shortage. As a result, the body produces antioxidant enzymes to repair the physiological systems, enabling it to successfully cope with oxidative stress. These enzymes, together with GPx, SOD, and CAT, are crucial components of antioxidant defence mechanisms (Salah \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019). Our results are consistent with those of Li \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2019); Selvam \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, (2017), who found that heat stress led to the onset of oxidative stress markers in the birds as a result of inadequate floor space, reduced airflow, and overcrowding, high temperature, as shown by the increased MDA and lower activates of GPx, SOD, and CAT in the bird's serum.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs an ongoing indicator of oxidative stress, MDA is a critical end product of lipid peroxidation measured (Rahmani \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2017). The serum of the birds used in this experiment had a much lower MDA level than the control. This result could be attributed to antioxidant content of the SPLM which reduces; heat stress, bird competition, and decreases lipid peroxidation. According to Li \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e 2019, on a separate study on curcumin, showed a reduce oxidative stress by enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes that contain GPx, CAT, and SOD (Thomas, 2011).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese results on carcass and organ characteristics agreed with previous reports of Beckford and Bartlett (2015) whose values at 10% SPLM in bird\u0026rsquo;s diets, pre-slaughter weights continued to decline progressively at higher concentrations. The plucked weight, dress weight and dress carcass percentage as reported in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, revealed that T3 have (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) superior values than other treatments. In earlier reports, on broiler chickens, similar results were observed on pre-slaughtered body weight and dress weights in their study, on \u003cem\u003eMoringa oleifera\u003c/em\u003e at varying inclusion levels (Onunkwo and George 2015; Worku 2016).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecent research suggests that certain phytochemicals may influence animal metabolism both directly and indirectly by building more muscle. In addition, dietary poisons may cause the weights of the animals' internal organs to diverge from the expected range (Helen et al., 2020; Oloruntola \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021). In this investigation, the SPLM supplements had no significant impact (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) on the birds dressing percentage or their comparative internal organs weights.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eData on eviscerated carcass weights was significantly (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) affected by the treatments. These can be accredited to the resulting feed intake which is digested and converted to energy stored as weight in the birds. Generally, a balance in the energy to protein base feed resources in poultry for optimum utilization with a corresponding improved body growth performance largely depends on the feed resource (Akpodiete et al., 2014; Onwumelu et al., 2022). The diets have no (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) on the head, shank, neck and back of birds. The breast, thigh, drum stick and wings values recorded significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) differences across treatments. The birds on SPLM abdominal values were also significantly (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) at 42 days of age. Also, the polyphenolic compounds in SPLM reduced the abdominal fat content of birds by converting it into tissue and energy which resulted in the birds increased bodyweight (Anbuselvi and Balamurugan 2014). In earlier reports, increased quantities of the test ingredients showed a subsequent abdominal fat decreased of birds (Diarra \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2017; Foluke \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2018). In the latter study on the possible replacement of fish meal with duckweed meal (DWM) in broiler chickens diets up to 100%; the abdominal fat values reduced as the concentration of DWM increased. These authors opined that the reduction in abdominal fat might have been accredited to the phytochemical properties of duck weed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe consistency observed in the dressed percentage and the corresponding weights of the chicken's internal organs (liver, heart, kidney, and gizzard) during this feeding trial suggests that the dietary supplement used in this study promotes the well-being of the animal's edible portions and internal organs. This finding/observation implies that the birds' relative lung weights were not adversely impacted by the feeding therapy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe resulting decrease of liver weight values is due to (anti-nutritional factors) tannin and flavonoids effects that are largely present in SPLM (Akintomide \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021). However, the presence of these anti-nutritional factors in significant quantities helped to reduce the digestive enzymes there-by overworking the liver and other vital organs in the birds. A similar trend in gizzard weights was also observed; and ranged from 51.07% \u0026ndash; 57.43%. These results are in consistent with Beckford and Bartlett (2015). This can be attributed to the fibre content of the diet whereby it stimulates feed intake and its subsequent utilization of SPLM to energy (Beckford and Bartlett 2015; Diarra et al., 2017; Sameh et al., 2018). Results on pancreas, spleen, colon, small intestine, caecum and proventriculus were (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) affected across the diets. This also clearly established that birds on SPLM were not negatively affected generally since no nutritional imbalance of diets was recorded.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe histopathology of the heart and liver of the experimental birds fed SPLM showed that an increased in the inclusion levels, the fatty lesions were not as visible compared to T1 and T2 respectively. The study\u0026rsquo;s liver histology is in consistence with Wei \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2016) that conducted a study on 360; (27 weeks) old layers where \u003cem\u003eMoringa oleifera\u003c/em\u003e was supplemented in a corn-soybean meal diet up to 15% MOLM. In this research, as the addition level of SPLM progresses, the visible legion, fatty cells changed and its appearances declined. However, birds fed 11.25% SPLM and 15% SPLM showed large numbers of lipid droplets and fatty liver cell counts. There are several activities the liver performs in broilers chickens such as metabolic functions, waste products and worn-out cells from blood vessels, nutrient detoxification (neutralizes toxins), aids protein synthesis and production of bile for fat digestion and the removal of toxins through the (GIT) (Ghebreselassie et al., 2011). However, exposure of the liver to therapeutic or sub-therapeutic higher levels of some medicines could cause liver injures (Adeyeye et al., 2019; Akintomide et al., 2021).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults on the heart histology of birds on 0% SPLM and 3.75% SPLM showed insignificant and closely packed visible lesions, no visible changes in appearance, fatty cells and normal cardiomyocytes. Also, Wei \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2016) revealed that at increased levels up to 15% SPLM showed significant spaces of the lesion which were more visible pathologically in comparison to the T1 and T2. The differences observed could be accredited to the antioxidant content (flavonoids) and the anti-nutritional factors such as (saponins) in the test diet that resulted in the changes in appearance, fatty cell counts, spore spaces of loci in the heart of birds on SPLM (Anbuselvi and Balamurugan 2014; Funmilayo and Ayodele 2016; Adeyeye et al., 2019).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe presence of antioxidant and anti-nutritional factors in SPLM significantly increases the general gut health status. This clearly reflected on the blood indices and carcass cuts parameters of birds on experimental diets. The lean meat produced could be accredited to the (polyphenolic compounds) present in SPLM; that converted the abdominal fat into body tissues. However, birds on dietary treatments revealed no negative impact on the histopathology of the heart and liver. The study recommended that broiler chickens could be fed up to 15%SPLM diet without any deteriorating effects but rather improved the general performance and good quality meat.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eObakanurhe Oghenebrorhie: Conceptualization, data curation, software, investigation, writing. Irikefe-Ekeke Efe Peterson and Obakanurhe Oghenebrorhie: Conceptualization, supervision, software, formal analysis, validation, visualization, writing - review \u0026amp; editing. Obakanurhe Oghenebrorhie, Onwumelu, Ifeoma Jane and Sanubi, Jovita Oghenenyerhovwo: Validation, visualization, writing - original draft. Obakanurhe Oghenebrorhie, Irikefe-Ekeke, Efe Peterson, Moemeka, Adimabua Mike: Conceptualization, project administration, methodology, resources, supervision, software, formal analysis, validation, visualization, writing - original draft, writing - review \u0026amp; editing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI hereby acknowledge the Animal Science Laboratory Staff of Delta State University, Asaba Campus for their support and the conducive environment in carrying out this research. All authors declared no conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Nigeria. The Animal Production Research Ethics Committee (Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, Nigeria) approved (DOU-02021-A12) the protocols used in this research.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was no funding received.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data of this research will be made available upon request and approval from the authors\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdedeji, O.S., Amao, S.R. \u0026amp; Olugbemiga, K.S. (2019). Effect of \u003cem\u003eSesamum indicum\u003c/em\u003e leaves on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicken. Nigerian Journal of. Animal. Science. 21 (1): 222-232\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdeyeye, S.A., Ayodele, S.O., Oloruntola, O.D. \u0026amp; Agbede, J.O. (2019). 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The Efficacy of High-Protein Tropical Forages as Alternative Protein Sources for Chickens: A Review. \u003cem\u003eAgriculture\u003c/em\u003e, 8, 86.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSDGs (2018). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a global blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSelvam, R., Saravanakumar, M., Suresh, S., Sureshbabu, G., Sasikumar, M., Prashanth, D. (2017). Effect of vitamin E supplementation and high stocking density on the performance and stress parameters of broilers. \u003cem\u003eRev. Bras. Ci\u0026ecirc;ncia Av\u0026iacute;cola\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e19\u003c/em\u003e, 587\u0026ndash;594.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShekhar, S., Mishra, D., Buragohain, A.K., Chakraborty, S. \u0026amp; Chakraborty, N. (2015). Comparative analysis of phytochemicals and nutrient availability in two contrasting cultivars of sweet potato (\u003cem\u003eIpomoea batatas\u003c/em\u003e L.) \u003cem\u003eFood Chemistry; \u003c/em\u003e173: 957-965.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSu\u0026aacute;rez, S., Mua, T., Suna, H. \u0026amp; A\u0026ntilde;\u0026oacute;, M.C. (2020). Antioxidant activity, nutritional, and phenolic composition of sweet potato leaves as affected by harvesting period. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Food Properties\u003c/em\u003e, 23, (1), 178\u0026ndash;188\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThinh, N. H., Vinh, N. T., Linh, N. V., Giang, N. T. P., Doan, B. H., \u0026amp; Dang, P. K. (2018). 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Moringa oleifera as a potential feed for livestockand aquaculture industry. \u003cem\u003eAfrican Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology\u003c/em\u003e.4: 666\u0026ndash;676.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWorld Health Organization (WHO) (2014). World Health Statistics Part III Global Health Indicators: life expectancy and mortality: 59-69.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZhao, L., Liu, W., Xiong, S., Tang, J., Lou, Z., Xie, M., \u0026amp; Liao, D. (2018). Determination of total flavonoids contents and antioxidant activity of ginkgo biloba leaf by near-infrared reflectance method. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Analytical Chemistry\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e2018\u003c/em\u003e, 1-7. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Plates","content":"\u003cp\u003ePlates are available in the Supplementary Files section.\u003c/p\u003e "}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"tropical-animal-health-and-production","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"trop","sideBox":"Learn more about [Tropical Animal Health and Production](https://www.springer.com/journal/11250)","snPcode":"11250","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11250/3","title":"Tropical Animal Health and Production","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Antioxidants status, blood indices, broiler chickens, carcass, histopathology, and sweet potato leaf meal","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4395324/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4395324/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA feed trial on seven hundred- and twenty-day old Cobb-500 strain broilers finisher chickens on substituting sweet potato leaf meal (SPLM) in broiler chicken diets was conducted. In a completely randomized design, the birds were allocated randomly to five (5) diets with 144 birds per treatment and divided into four replicates of thirty-six birds each. Treatment 1 was designated as the control (0% SPLM) while 3.75% SPLM, 7.5% SPLM, 11.25% SPLM and 15% SPLM serve as T2 \u0026ndash; T5 respectively. Data were collected on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology which were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the means were separated using Duncan\u0026rsquo;s Multiple Range Test. The proximate analysis and phytochemicals in the leaf revealed significant amounts of constituents analysed. The birds blood indices, carcass and organs characteristics on experimental diets recorded significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) effects on WBC, MCH, MCV, glucose and total cholesterol, live weight, plucked weight and dressed carcass weight values. Treatment 3 had superior carcass values in comparison to the other treatments. The histopathology results recorded significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) effects at 15%SPLM on the heart and liver respectively but no tissue damage was recorded. Birds on 11.25kg and 15kg SPLM supplemented diets had higher levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (p 0.05) compared to other diets. Also, birds on SPLM supplements showed (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) compared to the control. Conclusively, T3 revealed better carcass quality while 15 kg SPLM diet lowers the serum cholesterol concentration, improves the serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities of the chickens, and lowers the cholesterol in the meat.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Antioxidant and antinutritional potentials of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaf meal on blood indices, carcass characteristics and histopathology of broiler chickens","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-05-27 09:04:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4395324/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2024-05-20T13:05:41+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-05-16T14:42:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-05-14T06:09:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Tropical Animal Health and Production","date":"2024-05-13T08:06:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"tropical-animal-health-and-production","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"trop","sideBox":"Learn more about [Tropical Animal Health and Production](https://www.springer.com/journal/11250)","snPcode":"11250","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11250/3","title":"Tropical Animal Health and Production","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"23f36f09-cfb8-4108-a231-477847fe205a","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 27th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-02-17T16:05:39+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4395324","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-025-04299-6","journal":{"identity":"tropical-animal-health-and-production","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Tropical Animal Health and Production"},"publishedOn":"2025-02-10 15:57:23","publishedOnDateReadable":"February 10th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-05-27 09:04:57","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s11250-025-04299-6","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-025-04299-6","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4395324","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4395324","identity":"rs-4395324","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}