Neem Plant on Animals Feed Resources
Introduction :
Azadirachta indica, commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac. Family :Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to the parts of Southeast Asia, but is naturalized and grown around the world in tropical and subtropical areas. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil. Nim is a Hindustani noun derived from Sanskrit nimba. Local name – Neem. Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) is a multipurpose tree that is highly popular in India, where it provides food and insecticide. And is used for its great number of ethnomedicinal properties. Neem leaves and the oil cake resulting from oil extraction can be Used for livestock feeding, but the raw cake is poorly palatable, toxic and requires processing.
Distribution :
Neem is native of dry areas of the Indian subcontinent, Myanmar and China. It was naturally Distributed in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and has become one of the most widespread trees in tropical and subtropical Areas. It has become invasive in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic), sub-SaharanAfrica(Kenya,Gambia,Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Tanzania), and the Pacific (Australia, Fiji, Marshall Islands) .Neem naturally occurs in dry deciduous and thorn forests, or acacia forests. In its exotic range, it has become invasive in a Number of habitats including fallow agricultural land, savannah, and dry arid forests (coastal forest in Ghana, lowland monsoon Forest in Indonesia, evergreen and dry deciduous forest in Africa). Neem can be found from sea level up to an altitude of 1500 m in places where average annual rainfall ranges from 400 to 1200 mm and where average annual Maximum temperatures may be as high as 40°C. Adult trees tolerate some frost but seedlings are sensitive to it. Neem canGrow on a wide range of soils, from acidic to alkaline pH, but it does better on shallow, stony, sandy, poor soils, in marginal Sloping places or on rocky crevices . Neem is a full sunlight species but it can withstand some shade in its first Years Neem is able to extract nutrients from highly leached sandy soils and can survive extreme pH Conditions, from 3 to 9 . In well-drained soils, neem withstands up to 2500 mm rainfall. Neem has Some tolerance of salinity and has been used in sugarcane plantations with a significant soil salinity .Neem trees grow all over India. The plant remains green throughout the year and is drought resistant. Large quantities of leaves become available if judiciously collected. Neem is a large and evergreen tree with edible fruits and aromatic leaves found throughout southern Asia. A mature tree can produce 350 kg of leaves a year, which may be used for feeding cattle during famines.
Environmental impact:
Erosion control and soil improvement
Neem is suitable for dune fixation and for soil reclamation in areas where salinity occurs. Neem seed cake is used as an Organic manure that improves the efficiency of added N fertilizer as it delays the nitrification of soil. Neem leaves and small Twigs can be used as mulch.
Shade, shelter and afforestation
Neem is a valuable shade tree that is particularly appreciated in India where it is planted on avenues, along roads and in Villages . It provides a good windbreak but,it does not survive typhoons .
Ruminants
Neem leaves
Neem leaves can be browsed or cut, dried and ground into leaf meal to be included in a concentrate diet . Fallen Leaves may be used as fodder but they are less palatable. Neem leaves have been described as the forage of choice during Dry periods and drought. For instance, in Gujarat, India, 15-20 kg/d of neem leaves were fed to cattle and buffalo during a Famine in 1976.
Palatability
Neem leaves are said to be palatable to camels and goats. In India, DM intakes of about 3% BW were reported in goats. During dry periods, neem leaves were palatable to cattle
Digestibility
Neem leaves have a relatively low nutritional value. In India, an estimated ME of 8.0 MJ/kg DM was reported . the in vitro OM digestibility of neem leaves was 51%, comparable to that of a local sorghum, Hay. but the estimated ME was much higher (10.0 vs. 7.8 MJ/kg DM) (Webb, 1988). In another in vitro study, the DMDigestibility of neem leaves was 50% .
Sheep and goats
In India, sheep fed on multi-Nutrient blocks that contained 30% neem leaves, as a supplement to a sorghum stover-based diet, increased intake and Digestibility while blood parameters remained unchanged.
Neem seed cake and neem seed kernel cake
Raw neem seed cake is unpalatable and harmful to ruminants as it adversely affects growth, the male reproductive system,And has at times led to haematuria. Consequently it should be fed to ruminants only after it has been detoxified to make it safe And palatable. Many processes have been tested including organic solvent extraction, acid or alkali treatment, water-washing, Sun-drying and heating. Inclusion rates of 30-40% or more become feasible, but treatments such as water-washing or alkali Treatment may also result in an important loss of nutrients, and the economic viability of such methods has not yet been Establish .
Palatability
Numerous trials in India with calves, buffalo bulls, crossbred bulls and sheep have shown that raw neem seed cake isUnpalatable to ruminants due to the presence of limonoids. It is possible to improve its palatability by feeding it together withIngredients. such as starch, molasses, maize or sugar from palm sap. Urea-ammoniated seed cake was found to be palatableTo buffalo and kids .
Dairy cattle
In crossbred dairy cows, water-washed neem seed kernel cake (protein 41% DM) was included at 40% in the concentrates Without depressing DM intake, nutrient digestibility, milk yield, butter fat content and organoleptic evaluation of milk .Another experiment with 30% water-washed seed cake led to similar positive results. However, it was noted that water-Washing was laborious and not feasible for industrial application, besides being uneconomical due to loss of soluble nutrients
Growing cattle
Poor palatability, as well as depressed performance and nutrient digestibility, have been observed in crossbred calves fed Concentrate mixtures containing 25 or 57% raw neem seed cake, and in buffalo calves fed diets where neem seed cake Provided 25 to 50% of the dietary protein . In crossbred calves,Feeding a concentrate containing neem seed cake that contributed to 12.5, 25, or 50% of the crude protein requirement, Resulted in poor palatability, reduced nutrient digestibility, poor weight gain or loss of body weight.Water-washed and sun-dried neem seed kernel cake included at 45% in a concentrate mixture to male calves did notSignificantly alter growth, DM intake and nutrient digestilibility . Water-washed neem seed kernel cakeIncluded at 40% in a concentrate mixture to buffalo calves improved growth but lowered DM and carbohydrate digestibility. In buffalo calves, NaOH-treated and urea-treated neem seed kernel meal could be included at 40% in The diet, as a complete replacement for groundnut meal, with no effect on performance and blood biochemical parameters.
Sheep and goats
Water-washed neem seed cake was included safely at rates of 30% in sheep diets and 20% in goat diets .Likewise, water-washed neem seed kernel cake could be included in the diet of growing goats at up to 25-30% without Deleterious effects on nutrient utilization, metabolism, carcass quality and organoleptic characteristic. Urea-treated neem seed kernel cake included at 33% in the concentrates for growing lambs was a Satisfactory replacement of groundnut cake, though microcalculi were found in the kidneys . Urea-Ammonia treated neem seed kernel cake could be included at 22.5% in the concentrate for growing goats, replacing groundnutMeal, with no effect on performance, and a better feed:gain ratio .
Pigs
Neem seed kernel cake
Information on the use of neem seed cake in pigs is scarce. Water-washed neem seed kernel cake could be included inGrowing pig diets at 10% of the diet (DM basis) to completely replace groundnut meal with no deleterious effects on growth andHealth parameters.
Poultry
Raw neem seeds and seed cake are not suitable for poultry feeding due to their toxicity and to the presence of bitterCompounds that impair feed intake . Some properties of these compounds make theseProducts potentially valuable in veterinary medicine, for instance against external parasites . NeemSeeds or extracts can be used at low incorporation rates in replacement of antibiotics .
Broilers
Raw neem seeds and seed cake decrease feed intake and broiler performance. Several processes have been investigated inOrder to make neem products useful for poultry: soaking, cooking, alkali or acid treatments, and extraction with one or severalSolvents . Some encouraging results have been obtained at relatively low inclusion rates, such as betterFeed intake and acceptable performance. Neem seed kernel cake treated with alkali or urea maintained an acceptable level of Performance at 13% inclusion in the diet . Toasting or autoclavingAlleviated the negative effects of neem kernels and seed kernel meal. However, the effect of autoclaving wasNot constant: in some cases no improvement over raw neem products was observed . Therefore neem seedsAnd seed cake are not recommended in broiler feeding. These products may be used only in limited amounts (below 5%) afterBeing efficiently detoxified.
Layers
Raw neem seed kernel cake induced lower feed intake and laying performance when used at 15 or 20% in layer diets, while at10% performance was maintained. Neem by-products should be used carefully in layers, given thepossible long term effects on health. In male or female breeders, neem should be strictly avoided because of its potentialEffects on reproduction .
Quails
In growing quails, incorporation of 5 to 10% solvent-extracted neem kernel meal in the diet decreased growth slightly, whileInducing mild pathological effects. In laying quails, performance was maintained with 5-10% neemKernel meal but feed efficiency was reduced . The risks of pathological effects suggest avoiding theUse of neem products in quail diets.
Rabbits
Neem leaves
dried neem leaves were used safely for growing rabbits up to 15% of the diet.The very high lignin content could be considered as an advantage for the digestive health of rabbits. In rabbit does, theLong term feeding of diets with 5 to 15% sun-dried neem leaves (112 days) significantly modified blood parameterwithout altering linear body growth and reproductive tract morphometry . The digestibleEnergy of neem leaves for rabbits is about 8.0 MJ/kg DM, but protein digestibility is low (about 36%) . AqueousExtracts of neem leaves have recognized hypoglycemic effects in rabbits .
Neem seeds
The toxicity of neem oil has been demonstrated in rats and rabbits, with lungs and the central nervous system as the targetOrgans of toxicity. The 24h DL50 was established in rabbits as 24 ml/kg. Despite this, raw neemSeeds can be safely introduced in growing rabbit diets up to 20% corresponding to a daily intake of only 3 ml/kg BW of neemOil, without any alteration of growth performance. A higher proportion (30%) induced significant reductions in feed intake andDaily weight gain. However, when 20% of raw neem kernels (dehulled seeds) were included in the diet,Feed intake and growth rate were significantly reduced, but in this case the daily oil intake was 9 ml/kg BW .
Neem seed cake
Neem seed cake was included at 5-10 or 20% of the diet; it was safely fed to growing rabbits at up to 10% in place ofGroundnut cake . A similar conclusion has been obtained withUrea-ammonia treated neem kernel cake used to replace completely groundnut cake in the diets of angora rabbits or growing New Zealand White rabbits .
Fish
Neem seed cake
Neem seed cake is not generally used as a feed ingredient for fish. In common carp fingerlings (Cyprinus carpio), water-Washed neem seed cake included at 10% of the diet decreased feed intake, although at up to 15% there was no negativeEffect on amylase and protease activity .
Neem leaf extracts
Immunostimulatory and antimicrobial activity
Many experiments have evaluated neem leaf extracts (aqueous or alcoholic) for their potential health benefits in fish. NeemLeaf extracts had immunostimulatory effects at 5 g/l on Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) infected with the bacterium Vibrio Harveyi and at 10 g/l in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) invaded by the fungus Aphanomyces invadans.Methanol and ethanol extracted neem leaf was reported to have antimicrobial activity against theBacterial pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila in clown fish (Amphiprion sebae and Amphiprion ocellarinTrials with other fish species have been generally negative. In tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, Tilapia zillii OreochromisMossambicus), neem leaf extract resulted in a typical stress response (hyperglycemia and higher cortisol Male and female Nile tilapia showed gonad alterations at levels as low as 0.5 g/l Histological examination of interstitial tissues of the ovaries in Nile tilapia females showed mild to severe necrosis,Increasing with the concentration of neem leaf extract Only one experiment reported Nile tilapia to haveIncreased lysozyme activity, which is a welfare indicator . In African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), theTypical stress response of hyperglycemia was reported after the use of sublethal doses of neem leaf extract over 12 weeks Fish had histological lesions in gills and liver and lost weight As biocontrol agent against fish pests and predatorsThe deleterious effects of neem leaf extract can be used to control undesirable fish species (predators or parasites) in ponds.In tropical freshwater Prochilodus lineatus juveniles the LC50 was set at 4.8 g/l after 72h exposure but deleterious effectsIncluding stress response were reported. Damaged gill and kidney tissues were also observed at only 2.5 g/l. In common carp, the LC50 was reported to be only 0.1 g/l after 24h exposure and as low as 0.05 g/l after 96h exposure.Alcohol and water-extracted seed kernel and oil could be used to control fish predators.
Crustaceans
Neem leaf extract was reported to have antimicrobial activity against the bacterial pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila in prawns.
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Dr. Biju Borah and Lakhimpur college of veterinary science to give me the opportunity to explore this topic. I would also like to thank my Father to give me some knowledge about the natural farming .
Writer:
Charkle Hansepi
Third professional year, BVSc & AH
Lakhimpur college of veterinary science
Joyhing, North Lakhimpur,787051
Refrence :
https://agritrop.cirad.fr/582491/7/ID582491_ENG.pdf
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azadirachta_indica
https://www.dairyknowledge.in/dkp/article/neem
