Abstract
This study investigated the effects of oral administration of β-glucan 1,3 (pharmaceutical grade 10%) on growth performance and carcass traits in two breeds of weanling rabbits adapted to survive in Egypt, New Zealand White (NZW) and Animal Production Research Institute (APRI) rabbits, with special attention to relative mRNA expression of interleukins and antioxidant enzyme genes, biochemical, and histological alterations. Oral administration of β-glucan with doses 0.25 and 0.5 ml per one-liter of drinking water significantly accelerated body weight gain (BWG) in both rabbits’ breeds, reduced total feed consumption (FC), and reduced feed conversion ratio (FCR), especially the 0.5 ml per one-liter dose in both rabbit breeds. There are remarkable differences in all the growth performance traits due to breed effect. The interaction effect between β-glucan and breed significantly improved BWG, FC, and FCR. There were non-significant differences in all carcass traits studied due to oral administration of β-glucan with both doses, except in dressing percentages. The highest of the dressing percentages were observed at doses 0.25 ml per one-liter (51%) and 0.5 ml per one-liter (52%) compared with control (50%). Our findings show significant variations in the final BW, total daily gain, feed consumption, and total feed conversion ratio between NZW and APRI rabbits. Absence of significant differences in the hot carcass weight and dressing percentage between the genetic groups had been reported in this study. Supplementing NZW and APRI rabbits with β-glucan increased blood total protein and globulin. The duodenal villi dimensions, splenic lymphoid diameter, muscular fiber diameter, and muscular glycogen areas were significantly increased by β-glucan administration. Expression of intestinal interleukin-18 (IL-18) in NZW rabbits treated with 0.25 and 0.5 doses of β-glucan was significantly upregulated and enhanced the immune response. β-glucan upregulated the expression of intestinal occludin mRNA particularly at dose 0.5 β-glucan as well as upregulated intestinal superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1), which modulates anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In conclusion, oral administration of β-glucan at a dose of 0.25 or 0.5 ml per one-liter drinking water provided beneficial effects in the growth performance and health status of rabbits.
Highlights
Rabbits meat production is a practical solutions to the growing protein shortage in developing countries [1]
A natural feed additive is β-1,3–1,6-glucan, the structural constituent that is present in the cell wall of yeast, fungi, and certain bacteria [7]. β-1,3–1,6-glucan can be supplied as alternate feed additive orally and is absorbed by intestinal cells and intestinal lymphoid tissue cells into the gastrointestinal tract, stimulating molecular and humoral immune reaction cells [8]
Animals were allotted into a β-glucan supplementation improves gut environment in rabbits completely randomized design in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement (two breeds: New Zealand White (NZW) and Animal Production Research Institute (APRI), and three levels of β-glucan: 0, 0.25, and 0.5 ml per one-liter drinking water)
Summary
Rabbits meat production is a practical solutions to the growing protein shortage in developing countries [1]. In many European and North African countries, including Egypt, meat is consumed routinely and its production plays a major role in most of those countries’ economies [2]. To help resolve the global protein shortage problem, production of rabbits is an appropriate task due to high fertility, low investment costs, a short interval between generations, and the ability to use various forages [3]. The European Union prohibition of the use of antibiotic growth promoters led to research for various natural feed additives rather than food antibiotics including probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes, and organic acids [6]. Advances were noted in immunity by supplementing β-1,3–1,6-glucan in rabbits [9] chicken [10], swine [11], and horse [12]
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