Prediction of body composition in rabbit females using total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC)

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the accuracy of a total body electrical conductivity technique (TOBEC; EM-SCAN Inc., Springfield, IL, USA) to estimate in vivo body composition of steady state rabbit females. Eighty-four female rabbits (New Zealand×Californian, weight range: 3126–5465 g) at different physiological states were used in the experiment. After TOBEC assessment (five passages through a SA-3203 type chamber), animals were weighed, slaughtered and stored at −20 °C until chemical analyses (dry matter, lipids, proteins, ash and energy). A multiple regression analysis was employed to develop appropriate prediction equations for chemical composition using TOBEC assessment ( E-value) and weight of the animals as independent variables. The mean variability of the E-value for an animal (CV) was 1.21%. Very weak correlations were obtained with the prediction equations of proteins and ash ( R 2<0.55). On the other hand, TOBEC appears to be accurate in predicting water and energy in reproducing rabbits with high R 2 (≥0.84) and low CV (≤4 and ≤12%, respectively) for these parameters. The high correlation between TOBEC values and body lipids ( R 2≥0.82) validates the method in predicting this parameter but the correlation is associated with a high CV value (24%) which limits its reliability. The inclusion of the physiological state of the doe as a fixed effect in the statistical model was not advantageous except for prediction of body proteins. A group of 25 rabbit does was used to validate the predictive equations, showing that TOBEC is an accurate method to predict water, energy and lipid body content.