Digestibility and Growth Performance of Rabbits Fed Raw or Processed Lablab Purpureus Seed in Diets

A study was conducted to determine the Digestibility of growing rabbits fed raw or processed Lablab purpureus seed in diets. The Highworth variety was processed by decortication, toasting and boiling, mill and respectively incorporated into diets T2, T3, T4 and T5 to replace 75% of protein provided by full fat soyabean (FFSB) in the control diet (T1). The effect of replacing FFSB with Lablab purpureus seed on nutrient digestibility was investigated in growing rabbits in an 8-week feeding trial with 5-weeks old mixed bred rabbits weighing between 350-358g in a completely randomized design. The Highworth lablab seeds diets and faecal samples of experimental rabbits were assayed for proximate chemical composition. The crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract and energy digestibility were higher in rabbits fed raw or decorticated lablab seed diets than those fed control or heat treated seed diets. Decorticated lablab seed diets were most digested than the other diets. This suggests that the cortex of legume seed may have imposed a negative influence on the digestibility of these nutrients. The present study indicates that the digestion of a diet may be high but the utilization can be poor due to impaired absorption; caused by the presence of anti-nutritional factors like phytohaematogglutinins, which exert a non-selective adverse effect on the absorption of nutrients from the intestinal tract rather than a direct effect on the digestive process.