~ 3157 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2019; 8(3): 3157-3160 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2019; 8(3): 3157-3160 Received: 19-03-2019 Accepted: 21-04-2019 Iqra Khursheed Division of Livestock Production and Management, Sher-e- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu and Kashmir, India Sahar Masud Ph.D. Division of Livestock Production and Management, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu and Kashmir, India Asma Khan Division of Livestock Production and Management, Sher-e- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu and Kashmir, India Nazam Khan Division of Instructional Livestock Farming Complex, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu and Kashmir, India Sandeep Kour Division of Instructional Livestock Farming Complex, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu and Kashmir, India Sourab Dua Division of Livestock Products Technology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu and Kashmir, India Ifra Khursheed Department of Food Technology, Government Women Polytechnic Collage, Jammu and Kashmir, India Correspondence Iqra Khursheed Ph.D. Division of Livestock Production and Management, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu and Kashmir, India Proximate evaluation of Azolla pinnata as sustainable feed supplement for poultry Iqra Khursheed, Sahar Masud, Asma Khan, Nazam Khan, Sandeep Kour, Sourab Dua and Ifra Khursheed Abstract Azolla is a free floating fern rich in proteins, essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins (Vitamin A, B12, Beta carotene), bioactive substances and biopolymers. An attempt was made to evaluate the proximate value of Azolla pinnata as a feed for poultry. Azolla was cultivated following the NARDEP method. After harvesting it was sundried and stored in polyethylene bags and was further analysed for proximate principles. The dry matter content was 90.03 %, 22.79 % crude protein, 3.59 % ether extract, 15.49 % crude fibre, 19.46% total ash, 38.67 % NFE, 1.93% calcium and 0.26% phosphorus. Keywords: Azolla, proximate evaluation, NARDEP method, poultry, feed supplement Introduction Azolla belonging to the family Azollaceae is an aquatic free floating fern, has many species which can be found all over the world especially in tropical and subtropical regions. It grows easily in stagnant water, canals, pond and marshy lands as it can grow easily in water having pH from 4-7. Pillai et al., 2002 [23] reported that it is one of the good sources of protein and contains most of the essential amino acids, minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese etc, apart from appreciable quantities of vitamin 'A' precursor beta-carotene and vitamin B12. It is also contains probiotics and biopolymers. Thus, Azolla appears to be a potential source of nutrients and has a considerably high feeding value for livestock (Hossiny et al., 2008) [13] . It is considered to be the most promising because of the ease of cultivation, high productivity, good nutritive value and overall without any adverse effects like lipid per-oxidation of meat and meat products (Singh and Subudhi, 1978; Prabina and Kumar, 2010) [31, 25] . Azolla pinnata was used as feed in broiler chicken (Balaji et al., 2009) [6] , laying hens (Alalade et al., 2007) [2] , Juvenile Black Tiger Shrimp (Sudaryono, 2006) [32] , goats (Tamang et al., 1993) [34] and buffalo calves (Indira et al., 2009) [14] . Azolla filiculoides was also used in diets for sows (Leterme et al., 2010) [19] and as partial replacement of protein source for growing-fattening pigs (Becerra et al., 1990; Duran, 1994) [9, 12] . It contains most of the nutrients which are required for all classes of livestock including poultry and fish. Pillai et al., (2002) [23] has also found that the nutrient constitution of Azolla is almost identical to that of commercial poultry feed, except that its protein content is high and calcium content is slightly low. In the view of the facts stated above, the present study was undertaken to explore the proximate composition of Azolla as a feed for poultry. Materials and methods Azolla pinnata was cultivated by Nardep method (Pillai et al., 2002) [23] with little modifications according to the availability of material. After removing all the roots, pebbles and stones in and around a temporary pit of 2m X 2m X 0.2m dimensions was made under the shade of a tree and covered with plastic sheet of 3m x 3m dimension. Care was taken that the floor of the pit was even and corner of the pit were at the same level to maintain a uniform water level. Surface of the pit was first covered by gunny bags before the layer of plastic sheet to prevent the roots of the nearby trees piercing the plastic sheet then covered with plastic sheet. The outer edges of the sheet were fixed with bricks so that it will not slip during the cultivation period. After making a thin layer soil with 15 kg of sieved soil uniformly spread over the plastic sheet, 2.5 kg of cow dung and 25 g of super phosphate in 10 litres of water was mixed and poured on the sheet slowly. More water was poured to make the water level reach about three forth level of the pit and was checked regularly to maintain this water level. A thorough mixing was done so that the mixture was spread evenly in the pit. After the complete preparation of the pits about 1kg of fresh Azolla was inoculated in the pit with light sprinkling