K.G. Kgosana
Agricultural Research Council, South Africa
Title: Extraction techniques of anti-nutritive and toxic factors in the leaves of the white flowering Nerium oleander L.
Biography
Biography: K.G. Kgosana
Abstract
Plant poisoning is a serious concern across the globe. However, most livestock animals in the sub-Saharan African countries still depend on browsing on tree fodders to maintain their normal physiological processes due to high costs of animal feeds and all resources required for feed production. Conversely, plants contain endogenous toxins commonly referred to as antinutritive factors (ANFs) that often interfere with utilization of nutrients and/or feed/food intake of plants or plant products. Their abundance frequently leads to massive clinical trauma resulting in high morbidities and mortalities. Hence, the objective of the study was to do preliminary screening of the extraction techniques of the white flowering Nerium Oleander L. (Apocynaceae) and commercial feeds. Organic (hexane, acetone and methanol) sequential and aqueous (infusion and decoction) extractions were explored. Subsequently, a qualitative and HPLC quantitative analysis was carried out to compare contents of ANFs where the Mann Whitney U statistical tool was used at a threshold level of 0.05. The results showed higher extraction yields in all aqueous extractions. Therefore, an infusion may be considered as the best approach to mitigate plant poisoning due by ANFs in plants since it proved to be an efficient, safe and reliable method. Furthermore, although the results were not so significant (p<0.05), a high saponin content of 0.113±0.104 mg/g in diosgenin equivalent was obtained in commercial feeds. In addition, LC-MS will be conducted to characterise the quantified ANFs from the sample.