Physiological Features of Pennisetum Purpureum or Panicum Maximum Consumption in Guinea Pigs ( Cavia Porcellus )

Guinea pig diet is essentially based on the use of grasses associated with protein sources. Then, in to improve the herbivores nutrition, the evaluation of intake and In vivo digestibility of Pennisetum purpureum or Panicum maximum in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) was carried out in January 2017 at the University of Dschang research and experimental farm and animal production and nutrition laboratory. 20 adult animals of local breed on average weight 450 ± 50g and aged about 5 months were used. They were organized into two batches of 10 animals each (5 males and 5 females). The first batch received 250g of fresh matter of Pennisetum purpureum + 60g concentrate/animal/day, while the second received the same treatment with Panicum maximum as grasses. Leftover and animals were weighed every morning before food distributions, and drinking water containing vitamin C was served ad libitum. According to the results, the highest ingestion was obtained with Panicum maximum. However, the digestibility different nutrients was comparable between treatments; nevertheless, males fed on P. maximum digested crude cellulose (63.78%) better than males fed on P. purpureum (51.17%). With regard to the variation of the bacterial rate of the caecal flora, enterobacteria of animals fed P. maximum was high (11.20 CFU/ml) compared to those of the animals receiving P. purpureum (7.27 CFU/ml), although regardless of the treatment, the level of lactobacilli was higher than that of enterobacteria. In view of the results obtained, these grasses can be alternatively used in feeding guinea pigs.


Introduction
Africa suffers from poverty, malnutrition and other related social ills, particularly in rural areas, where the lack of capital and the necessary experience precludes the intensive production of animal protein.
The low potential for household monetary accumulation does not meet the requirements of traditionally high animal species. Given this situation and given the growing protein deficit, mini-breeding should be considered [1]. Among the species considered in this category, the guinea pig presents itself as one of the opportunities to seize [2][3][4]. The guinea pig is a monogastric herbivore whose main interest lies in its prolificacy, its high growth rate, its lean meat rich in protein and its inexpensive diet [5]. In fact, this small monogastric herbivore is widely grown and consumed by the populations of many regions of Cameroon; it is also a secondary source of income and does not require significant livestock production [6]. However, guinea pig production in Cameroon is mainly carried out in traditional systems [7]. The bulk of its food comes from household waste and crop residues that are deficient in essential nutrients qualitatively and quantitatively. This results in low productivity characterized by stunted growth, decreased fertility, abortions, new born with low birth weights, and high mortality due to poor health [2]. In addition, it has been reported that by applying a good livestock management strategy such as the provision of an adequate diet, one could improve the productivity of this animal [8]. Indeed, several studies have been conducted on the use of some tropical forages for guinea pig productivity [2,[9][10][11][12].
Among the forage, species that are frequently sought are Pennisetum purpureum and Panicum maximum [13]. Indeed, these two grasses have already been the subject of several studies in guinea pig feeding, used alone or in combination with other local protein resources such as Tithonia diversifolia [9], cassava leaves (Manihot esculanta ) [10], Desmodium intortum, Arachis glabrata or Calliandra calothyrsus [11 and 12], in order to evaluate growth in these animals. However, no study comparing their ingestion and digestibility in guinea pigs has been conducted to date.

Experimental site
The study was conducted during the month of around 20 ° C, the annual total insolation at 1800 hours and average relative humidity between 40 and 90%.
The dry season alternates with the rainy season.

Animal Sample and Housing
For this test, 20 guinea pigs of local breed including 10 males and 10 females, aged about 5 months and average weight 450 ± 50g were used.

Evaluation of the Ingestion
For each treatment, 5 guinea pigs of each sex were randomly allocated to individual cages, and food was served once daily between 8 and 9 hours. For the intake assessment, the quantities of food served were noted, and the refusals were collected daily and weighed before any new distribution.

Assessment of Digestibility
The animals were adapted to the digestibility

Statistical Analyzes
Data from this trial were submitted to the Student test (t-student) at 5% significance level and the analysis software used was SPSS 19.0. With either P. maximum or P. purpureum, males better ingested nutrients than females during the trial (Figures 1a and b). Also, the ingestion was respectively strong with the organic matter, the dry matter, the    (Table 4).

Ingestions
Average daily gain (ADG) of guinea pigs fed with P. maximum compared with those fed with P. purpureum Weight gains were comparable (p> 0.05) in animals fed with P. maximum or P. purpureum (Table 5). However, Pennisetum purpureum allowed the animals to acquire the best weights during the test.
Variation of bacterial flora of enteric bacteria and lactobacillus in guinea pigs fed with Pennisetum purpureum or Panicum maximum.
Cecal flora analysis revealed that the cecum of animals fed with Panicum maximum contained higher levels of enterobacteria (p <0.05) in both males and females. In contrast, lactobacillus levels were comparable (p> 0.05) in males and regardless of sex. In general, the level of lactobacillus was higher than that of enterobacteria ( Table 6).

Analysis of the weight of some organs and their
proportions in guinea pigs during the test.
Organ weights were comparable (p> 0.05) between animals and treatments, with the exception of liver weight, which was higher (p <0.05) in males fed with P.
purpureum. Similarly, animal weights were comparable (p> 0.05) in terms of treatments, as well as the proportions of all organs, whether in males, females, or regardless of sex. Overall, females' live weight and body weights were high relative to males, and among the organs studied, the cecum was the largest (Table 7).        . This result is in agreement with that obtained by Miégoué [12], who had higher levels of lactobacilli than enterobacteria in animals fed with P. maximum and P. purpureum. With regard to the weight of the organs, P. maximum allowed the animals to acquire better weights, with the exception of the liver. This situation could be due to the fact that since the liver is involved in digestion through the biliary secession process, the latter had to make more effort to facilitate higher fiber digestion in P. purpureum.

Conclusion
Evaluation of ingestion and digestibility of Pennisetum purpureum, or Panicum maximum in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) showed that P. maximum is better ingested by guinea pigs; similarly, regardless of treatment, males ingested more nutrients than females.
There was no difference in ADC of nutrients by treatment, with the exception of crude fiber digestion which was better in males fed with P. maximum.
Regardless of the treatment, the level of Lactobacillus was higher than that of enterobacteria, which confirmed the quality of these two grasses, because the digestive flora of a healthy guinea pig is composed mainly of anaerobic Gram + bacteria. The liver was involved in the digestion of food through the process of biliary secretion; it was larger in animals fed with P. purpureum due to the high rate of fiber in this grass. Panicum maximum was better ingested by guinea pigs, although not better digested by them (with the exception of its crude fiber). In view of these results, these grasses can be used alternately for feeding guinea pigs; however, given its wide distribution in the wild, P. purpureum would be the best recommended grass of both to feed guinea pigs.

Conflicts of Interest
All the authors agree that there are no conflicts of interest according to this article