Nutritional Composition of Pennisetum Pedicellatum Trin Grass

The grass Pennisetum pedicellatum is an ornamental grass that is widely used in northern Nigeria as a source of animal feed especially by local animal farmers. The research investigated the proximate and mineral contents of Pennisetum pedicellatum grass using standard methods of food analyses. The results of the proximate analyses (on % dry weight basis) showed a composition of 3.03 ± 0.50 moisture, 22.67± 1.75 crude ash, 7.67 ± 0.05 crude protein, 2.17 ± 0.20 crude lipid, 19.33 ± 0.58 crude fibre, 47.16 ± 2.03 carbohydrate and energy value of 282.05 ± 14.21 kcal/100g of the dried sample. The minerals content of the sample showed a composition (mg/100gDW) of 11167 ± 3.82 Sodium, 10850 ± 229.13 potassium, 108.3 ± 0.03 calcium, 28.3 ± 0.03 magnesium, 315.7 ± 0.03 Phosphorus, 0.58 Iron, 5.81 Chromium and 4.07 Nickel.  However, copper, zinc and manganese were not detected in the sample. The results indicate that the grass has the potential to be used as source of some important nutrients in alleviating macro and micro-nutrients deficiencies in animals.