Two different doses of a natural extract titrated in phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs) were evaluated for their effect on blood parameters and plasma oxidative status in pairs of intensively reared Italian hares. The study lasted 210 days, during which 45 couples of hares were divided into three homogeneous groups. A control group (CON) was fed a control diet while the two experimental groups were fed a diet supplemented with 1 or 2 kg/t of a supplement titrated in PPGs. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 70, 140 and 210 days and assayed for plasma lipid profiles, bilirubin, haematological parameters and indicators of oxidative status (reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), vitamins A and E). Although dietary treatment did affect the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and total bilirubin, all of which decreased markedly ( P , 0.05), while significantly increasing the ( P , 0.01) HDL cholesterol values, it also significantly improved the oxidative status of the blood, which displayed an increase in both vitamin E ( P , 0.01) and vitamin A ( P , 0.05) and a decrease in ROMs ( P , 0.01) and TBARS ( P , 0.05). The improvements in the blood parameters, lipid profile and plasma oxidative status continued to increase significantly as the trial progressed, indicating a positive effect with increased length of treatment. The results of this study demonstrate an important role for feed supplementation with respect to antioxidant activity on some blood parameters, including the lipid profile and the oxidative status of blood.

ABSTRACT:Two different doses of a dietary verbascoside-based supplement were evaluated on various blood parameters and on productive performance in young weaned hares reared intensively from 28 to 90 days of age. The study lasted for 62 days and it was conducted on 210 young hares divided into three homogeneous groups of 70 animals each, consisting of a control group and two experimental groups. Each group received the dietary supplement in the feed, titrated to 0.5% verbascoside, 1 kg/t of concentrate (LVB group) and 2 kg/t of concentrate (HVB group). The experimental reliefs included the measurement of blood parameters such as triglycerides, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and bilirubin, along with some markers of oxidative status in plasma such as reactive oxygen metabolites, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, and vitamins A and E. Various productive parameters were also measured such as body weight and growth rate, food consumption, and feed conversion. The experimental treatment resulted in a significant decrease in triglycerides (P < 0.01) and bilirubin (P < 0.05) and an increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.01) both in the low verbascoside (LVB) and high verbascoside (HVB) experimental groups. In addition, the oxidative plasma stability in blood also improved, with a significant decrease in the concentration of reactive oxygen metabolites (P < 0.01) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (P < 0.01), along with increased levels of vitamin E (P < 0.05). The productive performance was not statistically influenced by the experimental treatment, except for the growth rate which increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the experimental LVB and HVB groups: 6.9% and 8.7% respectively compared with the control group.

The long-term shedding of Canine alphaherpesvirus 1 (CaHV-1) by neonatal pups with natural infection is reported. The pups belonged to a litter of 11 pointers of a breeding kennel in southern Italy, 9 of which developed a fatal form of systemic infection, as resulted by the detection of CaHV-1 in internal organs (kidney, liver, lung and brain) of one of this dogs and in the vaginal swab of their mother. The two remaining animals displayed a milder form of disease, with one pup showing ocular involvement, and underwent a progressive recovery. These pups were monitored from 11 to 36  days of age, showing a long-term shedding of the virus through the nasal and ocular secretions and the faeces. CaHV-1 shedding, as assessed by means of a specific and sensitive real-time PCR assay, occurred mainly through the nasal secretions, although the pup displaying ocular disease shed the virus at high titres and for a long period even in the ocular secretions.

Effects of dietary supplementation of verbascoside and lycopene, alone and in combination, on some blood parameters, plasma oxidative status and meat quality traits in intensively reared rabbits were investigated. The test lasted 60 days and was conducted on 200 weaned‐rabbits, divided into four groups of 50 animals each (5 animals each cage × 10 repetitions). The control group (CON) received a fattening feed without any feed supplements, whereas the experimental groups received the following: the first, an integration in 22 g of PLX®23 (Lippia citriodora extract; VB group) per ton of feed; the second, an integration in 100 g of LycoBeads® (Solanum lycopersicum extract; LIC group) per ton of feed; and the third, an integration of both feed supplements in combination at the same doses (LIC+VB group). The dietary supplementation with Lippia citriodora and Solanum lycopersicum resulted in an improvement of the blood lipid profile, oxidative plasma markers, and hepatic and renal activity of treated growing rabbits. Feed additives also produced meat with a lower content in SFA and an increased PUFA content, and inhibited the lipid oxidation improving the oxidative stability of rabbit meat. The dietary supplementation, even reporting no effects on productive parameters and carcass yield, showed an improvement on several blood parameters, as indicator of animal welfare, and on quality and healthy meat markers.

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