In a 12-week feeding trial, 32 rabbits (Chinchilla X New Zealand White; 56 days old; 691±1g body weight) were used to investigate the effect of pro- and pre-biotics as growth enhancer on the growth performance, intestinal mucosal development, haematological and serum biochemical responses of rabbits. The dietary Biotronic® prebiotics and Biovet®-YC probiotics were added at 400mg/kg and 50mg/kg respectively. The rabbits were housed individually and randomly assigned to four dietary treatments (n=8/group; 50:50 bucks to does) including a control diet (diet 1), diet 2 (control+Biotronic® prebiotics), diet 3 (control+ Biovet®-YC probiotics) and diet 4 (control+symbiotics [Biotronic® prebiotics and Biovet®-YC probiotics]). Body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake (DMI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were monitored. Five rabbits per treatment were used for organ assessment and intestinal histomorphology after feeding trial. Blood samples were collected for haematological and serum biochemical analysis. Results showed that supplementation of Biotronic® prebiotics and symbiotics in rabbit diet significantly (P<0.05) increased final BW and ADG compared to Biovet®-YC probiotic and control diets. Kidney, lung, oesophagus, gastro-intestinal tract, small and large intestines were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. Ileal mucosal assessment revealed that villus height (VH), villus width, villus density, crypt depth (CD), and VH:CD ratio of rabbits fed Biotronic® prebiotic and symbiotic diets were similar and significantly (P<0.05) higher than those rabbits fed control and Biovet®-YC probiotic diets. Packed cell volume of rabbits fed symbiotic and control diets was significantly (P<0.05) higher than those fed Biotronic® prebiotic and Biovet®-YC probiotic diets. This study suggests that Biotronic® prebiotics and its combination with Biovet®-YC probiotics are good alternative growth promoting feed additives in rabbit nutrition. They improved performance, intestinal development and blood profiles and aid feed digestion, nutrient absorption and utilization in rabbits.

Cyathula prostrata (Linn.) Blume is a tropical herbal plant known for its important phytochemical contents and medicinal properties. But its impact on animal reproduction and fertility is yet to be fully established. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that C. prostrata (Linn.) Blume will improve the semen quality characteristics of New Zealand White buck rabbit. Twenty-eight post-pubertal buck rabbits were used for the study. The animals were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (n = 7 per treatment) where they were fed either the control diet—0 g C. prostrata (Linn.) Blume or any of the three experimental diets containing the graded levels of C. prostrata (Linn.) Blume incorporated into rabbit pellets at 10, 20 or 30 g C. prostrata (Linn.) Blume per kg feed. The results showed that the semen volume and pH were not different between groups. Interestingly, sperm motility significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. Similarly, the sperm morphology also decreased in a dose-related fashion with 20 g (77.75 ± 1.31%) and 30 g (79.00 ± 2.20%) C. prostrata (Linn.) Blume being significantly (P < 0.05) lower compared with groups 0 g (88.50 ± 1.44%) and 10 g (87.50 ± 4.33%) C. prostrata (Linn.) Blume, respectively. In conclusion, the addition of C. prostrata (Linn.) Blume into the normal rabbit feeds had a positive effect on sperm count, but reduced sperm motility and morphology, and may be associated with spermatogenesis-related problems.

Maternal malnutrition has important developmental consequences for the fetus. Indeed, adverse fetal ovarian development could have lifelong impact, with potentially reduced ovarian reserve and fertility of the offspring. This study investigated the effect of maternal protein restriction on germ cell and blood vessel development in the fetal sheep ovary. Ewes were fed control (n=7) or low protein (n=8) diets (17.0g versus 8.7g crude protein.MJ-1 metabolizable energy) from conception to day 65 of gestation (gd65). On gd65, fetal ovaries were subjected to histological and immunohistochemical analysis to quantify germ cells (OCT4, VASA, DAZL), proliferation (Ki67), apoptosis (Caspase 3) and vascularisation (CD31). Protein restriction reduced fetal ovary weight (p<0.05), but had no effect on fetal weight (p>0.05). The density of germ cells was unaffected by maternal diet (p>0.05). In the ovarian cortex, OCT4+ve cells were more abundant than DAZL+ve (p<0.001) and VASA+ve cells (p<0.001). The numbers, density and estimated total weight of OCT4, DAZL, and VASA+ve cells within the ovigerous cords were similar in both dietary groups (p>0.05). Similarly, maternal protein restriction had no effect on germ cell proliferation or apoptotic indices (p>0.05) and the number, area and perimeter of medullary blood vessels and degree of microvascularisation in the cortex (p>0.05). In conclusion, maternal protein restriction decreased ovarian weight despite not affecting germ cell developmental progress, proliferation, apoptosis, or ovarian vascularity. This suggests that reduced maternal protein has potential to regulate ovarian development in the offspring.