Composition of Saffron By-products (Crocus sativus) in Relation to Utilization as Animal Feed

• Published in: Agricultural science digest no. Of
• Main Authors: Jadouali, Si Mohamed, Atifi, Hajar, Mamouni, Rachid, Majourhat, Khalid, Bouzoubaa, Zakia, Gharby, Said
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 05.10.2021
• ISSN: 0253-150X; 0976-0547
• DOI: 10.18805/ag.D-360

Background: In the region of Taliouine-Taznakhte, the saffron culture constitutes the pivot of the agriculture. Nevertheless, a huge amount of saffron by-products with little or no commercial value are wasted during the processing of the stigmas. To increase the overall profitability of this crop, these by-products have been investigated as a potential source of nutrition. Methods: The different parts of Crocus sativus were analyzed. The leaves have high crude fibers (19, 31%), proteins (7, 24%), lipids (6, 10%), N (1, 15%), Fe (985, 59 mg/kg). The petals are the flower parts with the highest contents of crude fiber (11, 25%), ash (7, 30%), protein (6, 35%) and total carbohydrates (71, 16%). Corms have high total carbohydrates (92,41%). The fatty acids in cyclohexane extract oils from leaves were palmitic acid (21.68%) and linolenic acid (25.09%) while in the petals, palmitic acid (11.64%) and linoleic acid (22.60%). Result: From the result obtained, it is suggested that some of the by-products of Moroccan saffron could be utilized by ruminants as feed supplement during both wet and dry seasons.