Abstract
BackgroundThe study evaluated the growth performance, haemabiochemical and antioxidant profile of two breeds of rabbits fed diets containing varying levels of Rhizopus stolonifer fermented cocoa pod husk meal (FCPHM). Cocoa pod husk meal was taken through solid-state fermentation for a period of 2 weeks using Rhizopus stolonifer as its starter culture. One hundred and eighty, 5-week-old unsexed weaned rabbits 90 New Zealand white (NZW) and 90 Chinchilla (CHL) were randomly allocated into three dietary treatments, Diets I, II and III (0%, 12.5 and 25%FCPHM, respectively), and were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial design (2 breeds and 3 diets) of a randomized block design.ResultsThe study showed that the breed effect and dietary treatment were significant (p < 0.01) for total weight gain and feed conversion ratio with NZW breed fed 12.5% FCPHM having higher values than CHL breed. Serum total protein concentration was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the dietary treatment, while alanine aminotransferase, globulin and total protein concentrations were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by the breed effect. The interactive effect of breed and dietary treatment was only significant (p < 0.05) for serum albumin concentration. Malondialdehyde concentration was significantly influenced by both dietary treatments (p < 0.05) and breed (p < 0.001) factors.ConclusionIt was observed that CHL rabbits were more predisposed to stress than the NZW rabbits as indicated by the lipid peroxidation values, and according to this present finding, 12.5% FCPHM is recommended as active feed ingredient in rabbit diets.
Highlights
The study evaluated the growth performance, haemabiochemical and antioxidant profile of two breeds of rabbits fed diets containing varying levels of Rhizopus stolonifer fermented cocoa pod husk meal (FCPHM)
One litre of the starter culture, Rhizopus stolonifer, was used to inoculate the urea-treated Cocoa pod husk meal (CPHM) and kept in a tray incubating chamber covered with cellophane for 14 days after which it was sun-dried for 5 days to inactivate the microorganism and this was carried out according to the protocol of Olugosi et al (2019)
Performance indices of New Zealand White (NZW) and Chinchilla (CHL) Table 2 shows that the breed effect and dietary treatments were significant (p < 0.01) for total weight gain (TWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) at 1st–4th weeks of the feeding trial.The New Zealand white (NZW) had higher values than CHL, the highest TWG (433.48 g) was recorded in the group fed diet containing 12.5% fermented cocoa pod husk meal (FCPHM), while the group fed diet containing 25% FCPHM had the least TWG (300.02 g)
Summary
The study evaluated the growth performance, haemabiochemical and antioxidant profile of two breeds of rabbits fed diets containing varying levels of Rhizopus stolonifer fermented cocoa pod husk meal (FCPHM). Cocoa pod husk meal was taken through solid-state fermentation for a period of 2 weeks using Rhizopus stolonifer as its starter culture. Olugosi et al Bull Natl Res Cent (2021) 45:11 ether extract and 9.30–10.85% ash, and a recent study by Olugosi et al (2019) revealed that the nutritional value of cocoa pod husk meal can be improved by taking cocoa pod husk meal through a two-week solid fermentation procedure using Rhizopus stolonifer as its starter culture, reporting 18.20–21.92% crude protein, 5.54–6.39% ether extract, 9.03–9.23% ash and vast reduction from 1.32 to 0.30%; 9.60 to 8.19% in the theobromine content and crude fibre content, respectively. Studies on growth performance and nutritional studies have been carried out with cocoa pod husks on poultry (Nortey et al 2015) and small ruminants, but little has been done on the effect of microbially fermented (detheobrominated) cocoa pod husk on growth performance, serum and anti-oxidant studies of rabbits, the objectives of this study
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