Growth Performance Indices of New Zealand White Rabbits Administered Panax ginseng Extracts

Tobechukwu Chijioke Iwuji,Udo Herbert,Mary Anthony Oguike

doi:10.15835/nsb11410405

Tobechukwu Chijioke Iwuji, Udo Herbert + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.15835/nsb11410405

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Abstract

Treatment with Panax ginseng has been reported to elicit various biological effects in both animal and human models. Among the reported effects on animal are protein synthesis and growth promoting ability. For a better understanding, the current experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of oral administration of P. ginseng extracts (PGEs) on growth performance parameters of growing New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. A total of 48 NZW male and female rabbits, with the average age of two months were used for the experiment, conducted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The rabbits were organized into 3 groups of 16 rabbits each (8 males and 8 females), on weight equalization basis and randomly assigned to 3 treatments: T1, T2 and T3, containing PGEs at 0.0, 200.0 and 400.0 mg/ml, respectively. Final body weight and total body weight gain of the male rabbits on T2 and T3 were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those of male rabbits on T1, while feed conversion ratio for the male rabbits recorded a higher (p < 0.05) value in T1 than in T2 and T3, which were similar (p < 0.05). Trunk length and breast girth of the male rabbits were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in T3 than in T1 and T2. Feed intake pattern was similar among the male rabbits, but different between males and females. Significant (p < 0.05) differences were not observed in all parameters measured among female rabbits, but all experimental rabbits followed the same pattern of body weight gain. Oral administration of Panax ginseng extracts at 200 and 400 mg/ml levels enhanced feed conversion ratio in male NZW rabbits, thereby increasing body weight gain, trunk length and breast girth, while feed intake patterns slightly differed between the male and female growing rabbits.

Highlights

Numerous plants that are not conventionally used in livestock production are being explored for their possible benefits, especially in respect of finding non-synthetic materials that can play the roles of synthetic materials and drugs utilized in animal production
The present study demonstrated that Panax ginseng extracts (PGEs) promotes body weight gain and increases trunk length and breast girth size in growing New Zealand White (NZW) male rabbits
The effect was not recorded in the growing NZW female rabbits, the body weight gain pattern or growth pattern of both growing male and female NZW rabbits were affected, slightly deviating from the normal growth pattern

Summary

Introduction

Numerous plants that are not conventionally used in livestock production are being explored for their possible benefits, especially in respect of finding non-synthetic materials that can play the roles of synthetic materials and drugs utilized in animal production. This quest is progressively increasing, following the European ban of synthetic drug use in animal production (Lien et al, 2013). One of the plants with great potential that is widely researched is Panax ginseng. It is a slow-growing perennial plant with fleshy roots, belonging to the family Araliaceae

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