Effects of Dietary Supplementations of Vitamin C, Organic Selenium, Betaine, and Pomegranate Peel on Alleviating the Effect of Heat Stress on Growing Rabbits

Salma H Abu Hafsa; Gerardo Centoducati; Ayman A Hassan; Aristide Maggiolino; Mona M M Y Elghandour; Abdelfattah Z M Salem

doi:10.3390/ani14060950

Effects of Dietary Supplementations of Vitamin C, Organic Selenium, Betaine, and Pomegranate Peel on Alleviating the Effect of Heat Stress on Growing Rabbits

Animals (Basel). 2024 Mar 19;14(6):950. doi: 10.3390/ani14060950.

Authors

Salma H Abu Hafsa¹, Gerardo Centoducati², Ayman A Hassan³, Aristide Maggiolino², Mona M M Y Elghandour⁴, Abdelfattah Z M Salem⁴

Affiliations

¹ Livestock Research Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, New Borg El-Arab, Alexandria 21934, Egypt.
² Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, S.P. per Casamassima km 3, 70010 Valenzano, Italy.
³ Agricultural Research Center, Department of By-Products Utilization Research, Animal Production Research Institute, Giza 12619, Egypt.
⁴ Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca 50000, Mexico.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the biological activity and sustainable biorefinery development of vitamin C, organic selenium, betaine, and pomegranate peel on the performance, cecal fermentation, and antioxidant status of growing rabbits to alleviate the negative impacts of heat stress. A total of 105 male rabbits at 35 days old with an average weight of 752.55 ± 27.56 g were randomly assigned to five groups (21 rabbits in each). The experimental dietary groups included a control group fed a basal diet without additives (control group) and four treated groups, A, B, C, and D, fed a basal diet supplemented with either a 1000 mg vitamin C/kg diet, a 25 mg organic selenium/kg diet, a 1000 mg betaine/kg diet, or a 20 g pomegranate peel/kg diet, respectively. No negative group (not heat-stressed) was included in the trial. Rabbits given A, B, C, and D supplements showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in growth performance, nutrient digestion, concentration of total volatile fatty acids (VFA), acetic, and propionic acids, and total bacterial count, and a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in NH₃-N concentration, Enterococcus, coliforms, and E. coli counts in the cecum of rabbits. Total protein, albumin, globulin, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in groups supplemented with A, B, C, and D supplements compared to those in the control group. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, urea, and malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in groups supplemented with A, B, C, and D supplements compared to those in the control group. In conclusion, the finding showed that the supplementation of vitamin C, organic selenium, betaine, and pomegranate peel played a significant role in alleviating heat stress and had a further beneficial impact on rabbit performance, cecal fermentation and microbiota, and antioxidant status. However, betaine supplementation had a superior positive effect on the nutritional and physiological profile of heat-stressed rabbits.

Keywords: betaine; cecal fermentation; heat stress; pomegranate peel; rabbits; selenium; vitamin C.

Grants and funding

This study was carried out within the Agritech National Research Center and received funding from the European Union Next-GenerationEU (PIANO NAZIONALE DI RIPRESA E RESILIENZA (PNRR)—MISSIONE 4 COMPONENTE 2, INVESTIMENTO 1.4—D.D. 1032 17/06/2022, CN00000022). This manuscript reflects only the authors’ views and opinions, neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be considered responsible for them.