Abstract
ABSTRACTA sixty-day experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of a dietary supplement of vitamin B6 on growth performance and non-specific immune response of weaned to three month-old growing Rex rabbits. Two hundred weaned healthy Rex rabbits with similar body weight were randomly assigned to one of five dietary groups, and the dietary groups supplemented of different vitamin B6: 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg. Dietary vitamin B6 had effects on ADG and ADFI (P < .05), the highest ADG values and the lowest diarrhea ratio were found in 20 mg/kg group. Vitamin B6 had effects on the relative weight of thymus and spleen (P < .05), especially in the 10 and 20 mg/kg groups. Additionally, vitamin B6 had significant effects on serum IgA, IL-6 and IFN-γ titres and on sIgA titres in the duodenum and ileum (P < .05). Splenic IL-6 and IFN-γ mRNA expression levels increased with vitamin B6 (P < .05). Furthermore, vitamin B6 had increased M cell count in the appendix (P < .05). The findings revealed that vitamin B6 affects the immune performance of rabbits and the recommended vitamin B6 supplemental level was 10–20 mg/kg for weaned to three month-old growing Rex rabbits.Abbreviations: ADG: average daily gain; ADFI: average daily feed intake; F/G,: feed to gain ratio; IgG: immunoglobulin G; IgA: immunoglobulin A; IgE: immunoglobulin E; IL-6: interleukin-6; IFN-γ: interferon-γ; sIgA: secretory immunoglobulin A; pIgR: polymeric immunoglobulin receptor; GAPDH: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; M: cell; Microfold: cell; OD: optical density; ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
Highlights
Rabbit production is a major component of farm economies in developing countries, which contribute to food and fur
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplement of vitamin B6 on the growth performance, immune organs development, serum immune markers and intestinal mucosal immunity of weaned to 3 month-old growing Rex rabbits
Vitamin B6 had effects on average daily gain (ADG) (P = .034) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P = .048), no difference was observed for : feed to gain ratio (F/G) (P > .05)
Summary
Rabbit production is a major component of farm economies in developing countries, which contribute to food and fur. Rex rabbit is a breed generally recognized by its velvety fur and is raised for fur and meat production. Weaned rabbits are generally afflicted by digestive disorders, which contribute to reduced growth performance and health. Infectious diseases of the digestive system currently account for 70% of all rabbit diseases (Carabaño et al 2008). Antibiotics are frequently used to prevent or to treat infectious diseases in rabbits has increased the feeding costs. The longterm and extensive use of antibiotics has lead to the appearance of worrying bacterial drug resistance and stressed the problem of food residues. Treatment in rabbit farming has stimulated the search for alternative solutions. Researchers have explored alternative methods to treat rabbits with digestive disorders
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