Vantsawa et al., 2014. Am. J. Biol. Chem. Pharmaceut. Sci., 2 (3): 1-6

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Moringa Oleifera leaf meal on the hematological parameters and the cholesterol level of rabbits. Sixteen (16) weaner rabbits of mixed breeds, aged between 6-8 weeks with average weights of 649 + 3.0g were randomly allocated into four treatment groups with four rabbits per treatment. Each rabbit serves as a replicate. The rabbits were fed diets containing 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% Moringa oleifera leaf meal in the diets designated as T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively. The experimental diets and clean drinking water were supplied ad-libitum throughout the experimental periods that lasted for eight weeks. The result of the study showed that there were no significant differences (P>0.05) among the treatments for packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), white blood cell (WBC), lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, basophils and eosinophils. Significant effect (P<0.05) of the diets was only observed in hemoglobin (Hb) concentration whose values were however, within the normal range. Cholesterol level was significantly (P<0.05) lower for the diets that had 15% MOLM. It can be concluded that inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal up to 15% in the diets of weaner rabbits has no adverse effect on their blood profile and reduces the cholesterol level.