Effects of Rocket Seed Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, and Their Mixture on Growth Performance, Feed Utilization, Digestibility, Redox Status, and Meat Fatty Acid Profile of Growing Rabbits

Sabrin Abdelrahman Morshedy, Ahmed M. Abdelmodather, Mohamed M. Basyony, Soliman A. Zahran and Mohamed A. Hassan
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Sabrin Abdelrahman Morshedy: Department of Fish and Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria P.O. Box 21531, Egypt
Ahmed M. Abdelmodather: Department of Fish and Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria P.O. Box 21531, Egypt
Mohamed M. Basyony: Agriculture Research Center, Animal Production Research Institute, Dokki, Giza 12126, Egypt
Soliman A. Zahran: Department of Fish and Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria P.O. Box 21531, Egypt
Mohamed A. Hassan: Department of Fish and Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria P.O. Box 21531, Egypt

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: Vegetable oils are a source of natural antioxidants, including tocopherols, sterols, phenolic compounds, coenzymes, and polyunsaturated fatty acids that provide nutritional value, organoleptic properties, and significantly delay or prevent lipid oxidation. Eighty-four V-line rabbits at 5 weeks of age with an initial body weight (BW) of 535.60 ± 13.48 g were assigned randomly to four experimental groups (seven replicates in each group with three rabbits each). The first group served as a control and received 0.3 mL/kg BW of distilled water (CON), while the second and third groups received 0.3 mL/kg BW of rocket seed oil (RSO) and wheat germ oil (WGO), respectively. The fourth group received a mixture of oils consisting of 0.15 mL of RSO and 0.15 mL of WGO/kg BW (MOs). The experiment lasted 7 weeks. The study investigated the effects of RSO, WGO, and their mixture on growth performance, feed utilization, antioxidant status, and immune response of growing rabbits. The results indicated that the rabbits that were administered orally with RSO and WGO or their mixture had higher ( p ≤ 0.05) final BW, weight gain, and average daily gain when compared to the control group. In addition, the feed conversion ratio improved significantly with RSO, WGO, and MOs treatments. Different oil treatments improved nutrient digestibility, nutritive value, and nitrogen balance. Moreover, the rabbits that received RSO, WGO, and their mixture had an improvement the meat fatty acid composition compared to the control rabbits. Oral administration of RSO, WGO, and their mixture significantly improved serum protein fractions, decreased blood urea nitrogen, and had a positive effect on serum total lipids, HDL-c, and LDL-c. Furthermore, the treatments of RSO, WGO, and MOs had a significant improvement in the antioxidative status and immune response.

Keywords: rocket seed oil; wheat germ oil; growing rabbits; growth performance; antioxidant status; digestibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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