ASHOK K. DHAKAD, H. K. OBEROI* AND J. S. LAMBA
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; 2Forage and Millet Section,
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana -141004, (Punjab) India
Department of Animal Nutrition, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University,
Ludhiana, (Punjab) India
*(e-mail : harpreetoberoi@pau.edu)
(Received : 26 October 2022; Accepted : 14 December 2022)
SUMMARY
In the era of chemical revolution, livestock are totally dependent on synthetic supplements for their body growth, mental and physical health; and milk and meat production. Moringa oleifera is only plant which is considered as bowl of supplements and wide range of bioactive ingredients and minerals. In this connection, 14 seed sources were studied for nutritional values, fodder quality and mineral contents. North Indian seed source were observe prominent for dry matter (S6; 26.80 g/
100g), ash content (S5; 11.53 g/100g DM), soluble sugars (S4; 23.17 g/100g DM), ether extract (S14; 4.69 g/100g DM), crude fibre (21.90 g/100g DM), phenolic compounds (S6; 10.24 g/100g DM), cellulose (S6; 26.90 g/100g DM), nitrate (806 µg/g DM) and saponins (S6; 24.40 µg/g DM). While, south Indian sources were best for crude protein (S9; 18.81 g/100g DM), flavonoids (S11; 1.90 g/100g DM), hemicellulose (20.30 g/100g DM) and tannins (S7; 55.88 µg/g DM). Besides, West Indian seed sources were found best for total carbohydrates (S2; 75.05 g/100g DM), total energy value (S2; 386.32 Kcal/100g DM), NFE (56.05 g/100g DM) and oxalate content (S10; 1.12%). In general, the highest concentration of essential minerals was found in north Indian sources, i.e. S6 and S14. Thus, there is sufficient scope for characterization of wild land races having high concentrations of nutrients and minerals to incorporate in future breeding programmes with high leaf biomass cultivars for forage nutritional security in lean period.
Key words: Moringa oleifera, seed sources, nutritional values, mineral profiling, tree fodder