Nutritive Value of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes

Abstract

The study was undertaken to find out the chemical composition and nutritive value of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) available in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Samples were collected from three different places of the study area. Chemical analyses of the samples were carried out in triplicate for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), nitrogen free extracts (NFE), ether extracts (EE) and total ash in the animal nutrition laboratory, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Results indicated that, there were no marked variations (P>0.05) in the DM, CP, CF, NFE, EE and ash contents of the samples. DM content varied from 81.87 to 83.49%, crude protein content varied from 10.15 to 11.20 %, crude fiber content varied from 26.07 to 27.39 %, ether extract content varied from 1.06 to 1.78%, nitrogen free extracts content varied from 47.21 to 50.17 % and total ash content varied from 12.35 to 12.51 %. It can therefore be inferred that the nutrient contents of Water Hyacinth did not vary due to variation in places. The result indicated that water hyacinth nutritionally was in standard condition, hence, it could provide nutrients and minerals to be utilized as fodder for ruminant especially during the dry season.