Effect of dietary supplementation with arginine and glutamine on the performance of rabbit does and their litters during the first three lactations

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study whether the dietary supplementation with arginine (Arg) and glutamine (Gin) or the combination of both influence the digestibility, body composition, and reproductive performance of rabbit does during the first three parturitions. A Control diet containing 29.8 g nitrogen (N), 313 g aNDFom per kg DM and 1.85 g digestible N/MJ digestible energy (DN/DE) was formulated, and another 3 diets were obtained by adding (gAg) 4 Arg, 4 Gin and a mixture of 4 Arg and 4 of Gin to the Control diet. Eighty nulliparous rabbit does were randomly assigned to the diets (20/diet) before the first insemination. After each parturition litter size were homogenized within each treatment and does inseminated lid later. Chemical composition and energy content of rabbit does and their performance, litter growth and milk production were measured between birth and weaning (25 d) along three parturitions. Amino acid supplementation increased the DN content (P = 0.015) and tended to increase the DN/DE ratio compared to Control group {P = 0.077) leading to an increase of digestible N intake during lactation (P = 0.004). In this period, Gin group had a higher DE intake compared to Control and Arg + Gin groups {P = 0.038). Total number kits born per litter tended to increase in rabbit does supplemented with Arg and Gin, compared to Control and Arg + Gin groups {P = 0.095), but no effect of treatments on the number of weaned rabbits was observed (P = 0.15). Single supplementation of Arg and Gin increased the weight of the litters at 20 and 25 d respect to Control and Arg + Gin groups {P < 0.021). Amino acid supplementation did not affect the milk production (P = 0.16), although it was positively correlated with the DE and DN intake (P < 0.001). There were no significant effects of treatments on body weight, chemical composition and energy content of rabbit does, but does supplemented with Arg or Gin tended to have a higher body energy content at the third insemination and at weaning than those from Control and Arg + Gin groups (P < 0.099). Amino acid supplementation did not modify the replacement rate of rabbit does. In conclusion, the single supplementation of Arg and Gin had a positive effect on the weight of litters at weaning and litter size at birth, but no additive effect was observed for the combined supplementation of Arg and Gin.

Effect of pre- and post-weaning dietary supplementation with arginine and glutamine on rabbit performance and intestinal health

“…Ovejero, León) to synchronize oestrus. The day of insemination, does received an intramuscular injection of 1 μg of buserelin Suprefact® (Hoechst Marison Roussel, S.A., Madrid), a Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH agonist), to induce ovulation in rabbit does [14]. At the time of weaning (25 days of age) rabbits were housed collectively in groups of 2 or 3 animals per cage (650 mm × 250 mm × 330 mm).…”

“…L-Glutamine and Arg were provided by Indukern S.A. (Barcelona, Spain). Arginine and Gln doses were fixed according to the positive effects on rabbit health observed in previous studies [14]. The ingredient and chemical composition of experimental diets are shown in Tables 1 and 2.…”

“…Six days after parturition 24 kits, one per litter (24 litters; 6 litters/diet), were randomly selected from out of the 14 litters per treatment included in the study (see [14] for details) and slaughtered by cervical dislocation at 12:00 h a.m. The mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) located at the base of the small-bowel mesentery was excised completely under sterile conditions for bacterial analysis.…”

Effect of cellobiose and dietary soluble fibre on fermentation, growth performance and health in rabbits

“…The incorporation of moderate levels of dietary soluble fibre (around 12%) as sugar beet pulp in rabbit diets in some studies reduced the feed intake and improved the feed efficiency when the level of soluble fibre increased (Gómez-Conde et al, 2007;Trocino et al, 2010 and. Furthermore, the incorporation of soluble fibre has been shown to improve the morphology, the Weaning rabbits (25-35 days of age) possess a caecal flora that is not as developed as that of the adult animals (Carabaño et al, 2010b;Delgado et al, 2017).…”

“…These modifications are focused on their effects on the gut barrier function, rabbit performance and the mortality. The proposed strategies are: i) to provide a minimal level of insoluble fibre with some specific characteristics (30-32% NDF, >3.7% ADL, and >21% particles larger than 0.3 mm) (Nicodemus et al, 1999 and2006;Gutiérrez et al, 2002), ii) the inclusion of 12% soluble fibre (Gómez-Conde et al, 2007 and, iii) the reduction of the level of protein (< 16% CP) and the use of specific protein sources (sunflower/plasma) (Gutiérrez et al, 2002 andGarcía-Ruiz et al, 2006;Carabaño et al, 2009;García-Palomares et al, 2010) or the inclusion of functional amino acids such as glutamine (Chamorro et al, 2010;Delgado et al, 2017).…”