Abstract
Simple SummaryThe weaning period is one of the most critical phases in a rabbit’s life, when rabbits are most sensitive to various spoilage agents, often with fatal outcome. Preventing these post-weaning alimentary disturbances and improving gut health through the use of natural substances has become an area of research activity in rabbit nutrition. The possibilities of “in vivo” administration of bacteriocins in rabbits are often limited. Our study focused therefore on improving rabbits’ health using enterocin M and sage extract, alone and also in combination, mainly to determine their effect on the microbiota, phagocytic activity, serum biochemistry, and morphometry of rabbits. The antibacterial effect of both additives was observed in the gastrointestinal tract of rabbits. Several biochemical parameters (increased in total proteins (TPs) using enterocin (Ent) M, reduction of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) using sage and its hypocholesteremic effect alone and in combination with EntM, and improvement of mineral levels) were optimized. All additives, but mostly EntM, showed a tendency to improve the jejunal morphological parameters.The present study investigated the effects of enterocin (Ent) M and sage extract alone and also in combination on the gut microflora, phagocytic activity, blood biochemistry, and morphometry of rabbits. Sixty-four rabbits (aged five weeks, M91 meatline, both sexes) were divided into three experimental groups: E (EntM; 50 µL/animal/day), S (sage; 10 µL/animal/day), and E + S (EntM + sage) groups and control group (C). The additives were administered in drinking water for a period of 21 days. Dietary supplementation of EntM and sage significantly reduced the coliforms (E: p < 0.001; S: p < 0.001; E + S: p < 0.001) in feces, while simultaneous addition of EntM and sage decreased enterococci (E + S: p < 0.0001), lactic acid bacteria (E + S: p < 0.01), and coagulase-positive staphylococci (E + S: p < 0.0001) in the appendix. Sage addition reduced HDL (S: p < 0.001) and LDL cholesterol (S: p < 0.001; E + S: p < 0.001), LDL/HDL ratio (S: p < 0.001; E + S: p < 0.01), and increased urea (S: p < 0.01; E + S: p < 0.001) and creatinine (S: p < 0.001; E + S: p < 0.001) in serum. EntM and sage application, alone or in combination, improve the jejunal morphometry (p < 0.0001) in rabbits.
Highlights
Rabbit breeding is an important enterprise in many countries, because these animals provide high quality meat for human consumption
The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of enterocin (Ent) M and sage extract, alone and in combination, on selected parameters: Microbiota, phagocytic activity, serum biochemistry, and morphometry of rabbits
The effect of treatment was observed only in the coliform and pseudomonads; results of treatment with x time interaction were found to be significant in these groups of bacteria (Table 2)
Summary
Rabbit breeding is an important enterprise in many countries, because these animals provide high quality meat for human consumption. Rearing rabbits can cause many environmental, dietary, and physiological stresses, mainly during the weaning period. These 10–15 days are the most critical period for rabbits as it is when they are most sensitive to various spoilage agents, often with fatal outcome. For these reasons, preventing post-weaning alimentary disturbances, maintaining the rabbits’ health, and stabilizing the economy of breeding is still a hot topic. To achieve better production in rabbit husbandries, one possible way is the use of natural compounds, such as probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, bacteriocins, organic and fatty acids, and plant extracts, which can improve the health status of animals [1,2,3,4]. Application of natural antimicrobials, including probiotics, bacteriocins, and herbal extracts, can modulate and balance the intestinal microbiota instead of beneficial lactic acid bacteria, and enhance the immune response
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