Synthetic agents as growth promoters in aquaculture has become unpopular, hence, the need for better alternatives. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary plants on growth performance, haematological, biochemical and oxidative stress parameters in African catfish. Fish were fed on basal diets for 84 days, the control and six other experimental diets containing different levels of Alstonia boonei (0.5%,1.0% and 1.5%) and Mitracarpus scaber (0.5%,1.0% and 1.5%) of the basal diets. Fish were weighed bimonthly, blood samples were collected and analyzed. At the end of the experiment, the final weight (FW), weight gain (WG), Average Daily Growth Rate (ADGR) and Specific Growth Rate (SGR) of fish fed with A. boonei and M. scaber were significantly higher than that of control (P0.05). The findings clearly indicated that the plants enhanced growth performance in fish with little or no deleterious effects.

Traumatic ventriculitis or hardware disease is the gizzard perforation by sharp foreign bodies (metallic or sharp object) that leads to ulcerative lesions.The present Case Report was to investigate through post mortem examination the cause of African ostrich death. Necropsy was conducted on a dead male adult African Ostrich presented to the postmortem unit of the Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. The gross lesions showed multifocal ecchymotic and petechial haemorrhages and lacerations on the left shank and thigh as well as the cloaca and vent of the bird. A perforation of the proventriculus with adhesion of a pointed nail-like metallic sharp object of 9.4 cm in length was observed. Histopathological findings revealed obliteration of tubular and vascular congestion which predisposed the animal to metabolic disorder.

Some plants have been reported to be of medicinal values and reserve some antimicrobial properties. One of such plants is Mitracarpus scaber and its effect on bacterial growth is evaluated. The study aimed at evaluating the phytochemical analyses and antimicrobial potentials of Mitracarpus scaber against aquatic bacteria including Aeromonas, Bacillus, Vibrio and Staphylococcus Spp. Leaves of Mitracarpus scaber were collected, washed and air dried and phytochemical analysis and antimicrobial investigation of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the leaves were carried out against a panel of bacteria isolated from diseased catfish from various farms. The phytoconstituents detected include saponins, tannins, flavonoids, tarpenoids, steroids, anthraquinones and alkaloids in both aqueous and ethanolic extracts. Both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of M. scaber showed varying degree of antibacterial activities but ethanolic extract showed a higher activity against the pathogens tested. The ethanolic extract had zones of inhibition similar to that of standard antibiotics (enrofloxacin) across all tested microbes. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration of ethanolic extract of M. scaber was against Bacillus sp with 10mg/ml while the highest was 85mg/ml against Staphylococcus species. The results of the assays showed promising evidences that M. scaber is a potential antibacterial agent against aquatic microbes. However, further studies are recommended to fractionate its constituents and determine the in vitro and in vivo anti-microbial activities and the exact mechanism of action of the constituents.