Effects of Ocimum gratissimum Leaf Meal on Carcass Composition and Quality of Clarias gariepinus

Abstract

The carcass composition and product quality of Clarias gaiepinus fed dietary levels of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%, Ocimum gratissimum Leaf Meal (OGLM) was investigated. The 36% isonitrogenous diets were fed to the post fingerlings, randomly assigned to four treatments-control (T_zn), 5% (T₀), 10% (T₀₂), 15% (T₀₃) in three replicates of 15 post fingerlings each using twelve plastic aquaria of 250 x 150 cm dimension. The fish were fed at 5% body weight twice daily within the experimental period of 56 days. Significant differences were recorded in carcass composition, with fish on T_zn and T₀₁ diets having higher values in crude protein and ash content. Fish on T₀₂ and T₀₃ diets were higher in moisture content, lipids and nitrogen extract. Fish on T_zn diet were significantly superior (p<0.05) in quality to fish on T₀₁, T₀₂ and T₀₃ (for raw fresh fish). However when cooked, the fish on T_zn and T₀₃ were not significantly different (p>0.05). The results of this study showed that up to 15% dietary inclusion level of OGLM could support optimal carcass composition of Clarias gariepinus without grossly affecting the quality of the fish.