Comparative Vitamin K Activity of Dehydrated Alfalfa and Leucaena Leucocephala Meal

Abstract

LEUCAENA LEUCOCEPHALA (Lam) de Wit, known in Hawaii as Koa Haole and previously identified by the generic name Leucaena glauca, is a legume widely distributed in tropical areas. Although the presence of the toxic amino acid, mimosine, may limit its potential use at high levels, satisfactory performance has been obtained when up to 5 percent was used in chick rations (Quisenberry and Draper, 1946; Molina, 1953). L. leucocephala is presently being used commercially in some of the Southeast Asian countries and it was in response to a request from this area that the present study was undertaken. MATERIALS AND METHODSOne hundred and sixty five one-day-old S.C. White Leghorn cockerel chicks were divided into eleven groups of 15 birds each and reared in an electric battery brooder with raised wire floors. During the first week all chicks received the following vitamin K-deficient diet: corn, 59.2%; soybean meal (44% protein), 36.0%;…