Impacts of the Dietary Supplementation of Oregano Leaves Extract and Its Bioactive Lipid Components on Nutrients Digestibility, Growth, and Carcass Traits in Rabbits.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University

2 Microbiology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of oregano leaves exctract (OLE) and its bioactive lipid compounds (BLC) as a natural feed additive on nutrient digestibility, growth performance and carcass traits of rabbits. The 1st group (T1) was fed on the basal diet with no additives (control). The 2nd group (T2) was fed on the basal diet supplemented with oxytetracycline antibiotic (OTC) at level of 50 mg/ kg diet. The 3rd group (T3) was fed on the basal diet supplemented with 8 ml/kg diet OLE + 0.75 ml/kg diet BLC. The 4th group (T4) was fed on the basal diet supplemented with 12 ml/kg diet OLE + 1 ml/kg BLC. A total of nineteen active components in OLE were identified. The highest components were Rosemarinic acid (15.590 mg/L), Hesperidin (8.175 mg/L) and Myricetin (4.14 mg/L). The oregano BLC was mainly composed of carvacrol (14.6%), thymol (12.7%), β-fenchyl alcohol (12.9%), and δ-terpineol (7.6%). Supplementation of different levels of OLE and its BLC significantly improved dry matter, crude protein and ether extract digestibility compared to the control group. Regarding the total digestible nutrients (TDN), rabbits fed T4 diet recorded the highest value (78.73%) followed by group of T3, then T2. However, the control group had the lowest TDN (77.23%). Final live body weight, total weight gain, average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio were significantly improved with the dietary inclusion of OLE and its BLC compared with the control group.

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Annals of Agricultural Science, Moshtohor
Volume 62, Issue 3
September 2024
Pages 67-78

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