Dried chicory root (Cichorium intybus L.) as a natural fructan source in rabbit diet: effects on growth performance, digestion and caecal and carcass traits

[EN] Three experimental diets were formulated including (per kg) 100 g oats (control diet), 50 g chicory root (Chicory 5 diet) or 100 g chicory root (Chicory 10 diet) at the expense of oats. The diets differed with respect to starch and fructan contents. In the performance trial, 120 Hyplus rabbits were randomly allocated to three groups (two rabbits per cage) and fed one of the three experimental diets between 31 and 73 days of age. At the end of the trial period, 20 rabbits per treatment were slaughtered and used for evaluation of carcass traits. In addition, the coefficients of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of the diets and caecal traits were determined from 45 to 49 days of age in 10 rabbits per treatment. The diets did not differ significantly in terms of weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, health status or carcass traits of rabbits. The CTTADs of crude protein (P=0.041) and ether extract (P=0.006) were lower in rabbits fed the Chicory 10 diet than in rabbits fed the control diet. The CTTAD of starch (P<0.001) was lower, whereas that of fructans (P<0.001) higher, in rabbits fed the diets based on chicory root. The caecum weight (P=0.037), the weight of its contents (P=0.025) and the lactic acid (P=0.028) concentration were higher in rabbits fed the Chicory 10 diet than in control rabbits. On the contrary, rabbits fed with the chicory diets showed lower caecal pH (P=0.048) than rabbits fed the control diet. There was a tendency towards a lower caecal dry matter content and higher total VFA concentration in rabbits fed the chicory diets. It may be concluded that chicory root can serve as a natural source of inulin-type fructans in rabbit feed. Diet supplementation with 10% dried chicory root beneficially affected the caecal fermentative activity in the rabbits, without significant reductions in the nutritive value of the diet, growth performance or carcass quality.Financial support for this study was provided by the institutional research project MZE 0002701404Volek, Z.; Marounek, M. (2011). Dried chicory root (Cichorium intybus L.) as a natural fructan source in rabbit diet: effects on growth performance, digestion and caecal and carcass traits. World Rabbit Science. 19(3):143-150. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2011.850SWORD14315019

Effect of inulin supplementation and age on growth performance and digestive physiological parameters in weaned rabbits

[EN] Three diets were formulated, a control diet (C, 40.7% NDF, 15.1% CP), the same diet but medicated (M, 500 mg/kg oxytetracycline and 50 mg/kg thiamulin), and a third diet obtained substituting 4% of barley with inulin (Frutafi t) in C diet (I). Pannon White does and their litters were randomly allocated into three groups (8/group) at 21 d of lactation and diets offered to the does and kids from 21 d of lactation onwards. After weaning (28 d), growing rabbits (30 cages/ treatment, 2 rabbits/cage) were fed the same diet as before weaning. At 28, 35 and 42 d of age, 6 healthy animals from each group (1 animal/cage) were slaughtered. Live body weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio increased and growth rate decreased with age (P<0.001). Feed intake decreased in rabbits fed I diet compared to those fed M diet (by 11%, P<0.05), with those fed C diet showing an intermediate value. Growth rate from 28 to 35 d of age was not affected by diets, but decreased from 36 to 42 d in rabbits fed I diet compared to those fed C and M diets (P<0.05), with no effect on feed conversion ratio. Inulin did not affect mortality, which was low (¿ 3.3%), but increased morbidity compared to C and M diets (11.7 vs. 2.5%, P<0.05). Diets did not affect caecal weight, pH, cellulase and pectinase activity or microbial counts. Inulin diet decreased caecal xylanase activity (P<0.05) compared to C and M diets, reduced propionic and butyric acid and increased acetic acid concentration compared to M diet, whereas C diet showed intermediate values. Caecal pH and counts of E. coli and total aerobic bacteria increased and pectinase activity decreased (P<0.05) at 35 d of age (compared to 28 and 42 d of age). The number of the strictly anaerobic bacteria decreased and cellulase and xylanase activity increased (P<0.05) at 42 d of age compared to 28 and 35 d. Propionic acid concentration decreased with age from 28 to 42 d (P<0.05) but VFA concentration and acetic and butyric acids proportions did not change. In conclusion, the inclusion of 4% of inulin in the diet of weanling rabbits showed no positive effect.The research was funded by the OTKA (project No. T046999) and the TéT foundation (project No. FR27/2007).The authors are grateful to Dr. L. Maertens (ILVO-Belgium) for his advice on diet formulation.Bónai, A.; Szendró, Z.; Matics, Z.; Fébel, H.; Kametler, L.; Tornyos, G.; Horn, P.... (2010). Effect of inulin supplementation and age on growth performance and digestive physiological parameters in weaned rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 18(3). https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2010.588318

ASSESSING THE POSSIBLE INTERACTION BETWEEN CARDUUS MARIANUS AND DIETARY DEOXYNIVALENOL ON CAECAL MICROBIOTA AND FERMENTATION OF GROWING RABBITS

Contamination of feed with mycotoxins is a common problem encountered in animal farming. Mycotoxin exposure can affect adversely the health of animals. In rabbits caecal fermentation is an essential digestive process being indication of physiological alterations. Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most frequent contaminants of grains which affect the growth of monogastric animals. Data about dietary DON and its effect in rabbits are scarce. Medicinal plants are often used as feed additives to enhance the performance of the animals. Carduus marianus (milk thistle) is known for its hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects (among others) but no data are available about the effect on rabbit caecum. Considering the aforementioned, the aim of this study was to assess the possible interactive effect of Carduus marianus and DON on the caecum of growing rabbits. 75 Pannon White rabbits were reared for six weeks from 35 (after weaning) till 77 days of age. Rabbits received the following diets: control (C), control with DON (CT), control supplemented with C. marianus in 0,5% (H1), control supplemented with C. marianus in 0,5% and DON (H1T), control supplemented with C. marianus in 1% (H2) and control supplemented with C. marianus in 1% and DON (H2T). On slaughter, caecum was collected for the analysis of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) and the microbiota of the caecum, pH of the caecum was also recorded. There was no significant difference in total VFA concentration or individual VFA. Number of aerobic bacteria significantly differed among toxin and non-toxin groups. DON affected adversely the number of aerobic bacteria. An interactive effect of DON and Carduus marianus on E.coli number was observed. There was no effect on total or individual VFA amounts

Beneficial effects of Enterococcus faecium EF9a administration in rabbit diet

[EN] Forty-eight rabbits aged five weeks (Hycole breed, both sexes) were divided into experimental (EG) and control (CG) groups, 24 animals in each, and fed a commercial diet with access to water ad libitum. Rabbits in EG had Enterococcus faecium EF9a probiotic strain added to their drinking water (1.0×109 colony forming units/mL 500 μL/d/animal) for 28 d (between 35 and 63 d). The experiment lasted for 42 d. The animals remained in good health condition throughout the experiment, and no morbidity and mortality was noted. There was a higher live weight at 63 d of age (+34 g; P&lt;0.0001), final live weight at 77 d of age (+158 g; P=0.0483), and average daily weight gain between 63 and 77 d of age in the EG group rabbits than in CG group rabbits (+8 g/d; P&lt;0.0001). No significant changes in caecal lactic acid and total volatile fatty acid concentrations, jejunal morphological parameters and phagocytic activity were noted during the treatment. The tested serum parameters were within the range of the reference values. EF9a strain sufficiently established itself in the rabbit’s gastrointestinal tract. At 63 d of age, a significant decrease in coliforms (P&lt;0.05), coagulase-positive staphylococci (P&lt;0.01), pseudomonads (P&lt;0.01) and coagulasenegative staphylococci (CoNS, P&lt;0.001) was noted in the faeces of the EG group rabbits compared to the CG rabbits. Antimicrobial effects of EF9a strain in the caecum against coliforms (P&lt;0.001), CoNS (P=0.0002) and pseudomonads (P=0.0603) and in the appendix (coliforms, P&lt;0.05) were detected.Slovak – Hungarian project APVV:SK-HU-0006-08 and the national VEGA project 2/0006/17 This work was financially supported by the bilateral Slovak – Hungarian project APVV:SK-HU-0006-08 and the national VEGA project 2/0006/17. Part of the preliminary results was presented in the Proceedings from the Conference in Kaposvár, Hungary, 30.05.2012, pp. 89-92. We are grateful to Mrs. M. Bodnárová and Mr. P. Jerga for their skilful technical assistance. We are also grateful to Dr. V. Párkányi and Dr. R. Jurčík, from the National Agricultural and Food Centre in Nitra for blood sampling and Mr. J. Pecho for slaughtering. All care and experimental procedures involving animals followed the guidelines stated in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the trials were accepted by the Ethic Commission of the Institute of Animal Physiology in Košice and by the Slovak Veterinary and Food Administration. We would like to thank to Mr. A. Billingham for English language correction.Pogány Simonová, M.; Lauková, A.; Chrastinová, Ľ.; Plachá, I.; Szabóová, R.; Kandričáková, A.; Žitňan, R.... (2020). Beneficial effects of Enterococcus faecium EF9a administration in rabbit diet. World Rabbit Science. 28(4):169-179. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2020.11189OJS16917928

Enterococci from pannon white rabbits: detection, identification, biofilm and screening for virulence factors

[EN] Properties of enterococci isolated from the Hungarian breed Pannon White were studied to spread knowledge regarding the properties of microbiota in rabbits from the basic research standpoint and to select a beneficial candidate for application in husbandry. Faeces from 113 Pannon White rabbits (mostly maternal line and some paternal line) were collected. They were sampled from rabbits varying in age and sex (82 kits, 6 does, 6 bucks, 19 adult rabbits), which were aged 2 wk (14 suckling rabbits), 6 and 8 wk (68 weaning and post-weaning rabbits), adult rabbits (31, one year). Faecal mixtures were sampled into sterile packs with faeces from 5-6 animals in each. The total count of enterococci from these Pannon White rabbits reached, on av. 5.28±0.29 colony forming units/g (log10). Among the 19 enterococci, 14 E. faecalis and 5 E. faecium were detected using 3 identification methods. The enterococci were mostly resistant to antibiotics. They were non-haemolytic, Dnase and urease negative. They did not form biofilm. They were free of the hylEfm gene and IS16 genes; the most frequently detected genes were gelE, efaAfm, efaAfs. Based on these results, E. faecium EF9a was selected for further analysis.The results achieved were financially supported by the bilateral Slovak-Hungarian project APVV:SK-HU-0006-08 and partially by the projects Probiotech ITMS 26220220204 and Vega 2/0006/2017.Lauková, A.; Strompfová, V.; Szabóová, R.; Bónai, A.; Matics, Z.; Kovács, M.; Pogány Simonová, M. (2019). Enterococci from pannon white rabbits: detection, identification, biofilm and screening for virulence factors. World Rabbit Science. 27(1):31-39. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2019.10875SWORD3139271Bagóne Vántus V., Dalle Zotte A., Cullere M., Bónai A., Dal Bosco A., Szendro Zs., Tornyos G., Pósa R., Bóta B., Kovács M., Zsolnai A. 2018. Quantitative PCR with 16S rRNA-genetargeted specific primers for analysis of caecal microbial community in growing rabbits after dietary supplementation of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and spirulina (Arthrospira platensis). Ital. J. Anim. Sci., 17: 657-665.Bino E., Lauková A., Kandričáková A., Nemcová R. 2018. Assessment of biofilm formation by faecal strains of Enterococcus hirae from different species of animals. Polish J. Vet. Sci., 21: 747-754. https://doi.org/10.24425/124314Bruker Daltonics Biotyper 2.0.2011. Software for microorganismsidentification and classification user manual.Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). 2012. In Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Disk Susceptibility T; Approved Standards-Eleventh Edition CLSI=NCCLS M02-A11. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, Wayne, Pensylvania 19087, USA.Dalle Zotte A. 2002. Perception of rabbit meat quality and major factors influencing the rabbit carcass and meat quality. Liv. Prod. Sci., 75: 11-32.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-6226(01)00308-6De Vos P., Garrity G.M., Jones D., Krieg, N.R., Ludwig, W., Rainey, F.A., Schleifer, K.-H., Whitman, W. (eds). 2009. Bergeys Manual of Systematic Bacteriology Vol.3 Firmicutes. New York: Springer.Foulquié Moreno M.R., Sarantinopoulos P., Tsakalidou E., De Vuyst L. 2006. The role and application of enterococci in food and health. Int. J. Food Microbiol., 106: 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2005.06.026Freeman D.J., Falkiner F.R., Keane C.T. 1989. New method for detecting slime production by coagulasenegative staphylococci. J. Clin. Pathol., 42: 872-874. https://doi.org/10.1136/jcp.42.8.872Huys G., D'Haene K., Collard J.M., Swings J. 2004. Prevalence and Molecular characterization of tetracycline resistance in Enterococcus isolates from food. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 3: 1555-1562. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.70.3.1555-1562.2004Chrastinová Ľ., Chrenková M., Polačiková M., Lauková A., Simonová M., Szabóová R., Strompfová V., Ondruška Ľ., Chlebec I., Párkanyi V., Rafay J., Vasilková Z. 2010. Influence of selected phytoadditives and probiotics on zootechnical Performance, caecal parameters and meat quality of rabbits. Arch. Zootech., 13: 30- 35.Kanemitsu K., Nishino T., Kurushima H., Okamura N., Takemura H., Yamamoto H., Kahu M. 2001. Quantitative detection of gelatinase activity among enterococci. J. Microbiol. Meth., 47: 11-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-7012(01)00283-4Kandričáková A., Lauková A., Strompfová V. 2015. Characteristic and susceptibility to enterocins of enterococci in pheasants possessing virulence factor genes. Polish J. Vet. Sci., 18: 507-514. https://doi.org/10.1515/pjvs-2015-0066Kayaoglu G., Orstavik D. 2004. Virulence factors of Enterococcus faecalis: relationship to endodontic disease. Crit. Rev. Oral Biol. Med., 15: 308-320. https://doi.org/10.1177/154411130401500506Kubašová I., Strompfová V., Lauková A. 2017. Safety assessment of commensal enterococci from dogs. Folia Microbiol., 62: 491-498. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-017-0521-zLatasa C., Solano C., Penades J.R., Lasa I. 2006. Biofilmassociated proteins. C. R. Biol., 329: 849-857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2006.07.008Lauková A. 1995. Characteristics of streptococci and enterococci isolated from rumen of mouflons and European bisons. Asian Austral. J. Anim., 8: 37-41. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.1995.37Lauková A. 1999. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci isolates from rumen content of deer. Microbios, 97: 95-101.Lauková A., Bomba A., Kmeť V. 1990. Enterococcus occurrence and urease activity in rumen content of claves after dieteticomicrobial stimulation. (in Slovak) Anim. Prod. (Czech), 11: 971-975.Lauková A., Simonová M., Strompfová V., Štyriak I., Ouwehand A.O., Várady M. 2008. Potential of enterococci isolated from horses. Anaerobe, 14: 234-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2008.04.002Lauková A., Chrastinová Ľ., Pogány Simonová M., Strompfová V., Plachá I., Čobanová K., Formelová Z., Chrenková M., Ondruška Ľ. 2012. Enterococcus faecium AL41: Its Enterocin M and their beneficial use in rabbits husbandry. Prob. Antimicro. Prot., 4: 243-249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-012-9118-7Lauková A., Strompfová V., Kandričáková A., Ščerbová J., Semedo-Lemsaddek T., Miltko R., Belzecki G. 2015. Virulence factors genes in enterococci isolated from beavers (Castor fiber). Folia Microbiol., 60: 151-154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-014-0357-8Lauková A., Kandričáková A., Ščerbová J., Strompfová V. 2016. Enterococci isolated from farm ostriches and their relation to enterocins. Folia Microbiol., 61: 275-281.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-015-0435-6Lauková A., Pogány Simonová M., Chrastinová Ľ., Gancarčíková S., Kandričáková A., Plachá I., Chrenková M., Formelová Z., Ondruška Ľ., Ščerbová J., Strompfová V. 2018. Assessment of lantibiotic type bacteriocin gallidermin application in model experiment with broiler rabbits. Int. J. Anim. Sci., 2: 1028.Linaje J., Coloma M.D., Pérez-Martínez G., Zuniga M. 2004. Characterization of faecal enterococci from rabbits for selection of probiotic strains. J. Appl. Microbiol., 96: 761-771. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2004.02191.xMarounek M., Březina P., Baran M. 2000. Fermentation of carbohydrates and yield of microbial protein in mixed cultures of rabbit caecal microorganisms. Arch. Anim. Nutr., 53: 241-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450390009381950Pogány Simonová M., Lauková A., Plachá I., Čobanová K., Strompfová V., Szabóová R., Chrastinová Ľ. 2013. Can enterocins affect phagocytosis and gluthationperoxidase in rabbits? Cent. Eur. J. Biol., 8: 730-734.Pogány Simonová M., Lauková A. 2017. Virulence factor genes possessing Enterococcus faecalis from rabbits and their sensitivity to enterocins. World Rabbit Sci., 25: 63-71. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2017.5694Ribeiro T., Oliveira M., Fraqueza M.J., Lauková A., Elias M., Tenreiro R., Barreto A.S., Semedo-Lemsaddek T. 2011. Antibiotic resistance and virulence factors among Enterococci isolated from chourico, a traditional Portuguesee dry fermented sausage. J. Food Prot., 74: 465-469.https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-10-309Rice L.B., Eliopoulos G.M., Wennerstein C.H., Goldman D, Jacoby G.A., Moellering R.C. jr. 1991. Chromosomally mediated beta-lactamase production and gentamicin resistance in Enterococcus faecalis. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., 2: 272-276. https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.35.2.272Semedo T., Santos M.A., Lopes M.F., Figueirdo Marques J.J., Barreto Crespo M.T., Tenreiro R. 2003. Virulence factors in food, clinical and reference Enterococci: a common trait in the genus? Syst. Appl. Microbiol., 26: 13-22. https://doi.org/10.1078/072320203322337263Simonová M., Lauková A. 2004. 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In vitro Interaction between Fumonisin B1 and the Intestinal Microflora of Pigs

The caecal chyme of pigs was incubated anaerobically in McDougall buffer with and without fumonisin B1 (5 &mu;g/ml) for 0, 24 and 48 h. The plate count agar technique was applied for enumerating the amount of bacteria including aerobic, anaerobic bacteria, coliform, Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus sp. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction was also performed to estimate the number of copies of the total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella. No significant differences in the amount of bacterial groups between the experimental (buffer, chyme, and fumonisin B1) and control 1 groups (buffer + chyme) were observed in both methods. Fumonisin B1 and hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration were analysed by liquid chromatograghy &ndash; mass spectrometry. There was no significant difference in FB1 concentration between the experimental and the control 2 group (buffer and fumonisin B1) at 0 h incubation, 5.185 &plusmn; 0.174 &mu;g/ml com&shy;pared with 6.433 &plusmn; 0.076 &mu;g/ml. Fumonisin B1 concentration in the experimental group was reduced to 4.080 &plusmn; 0.065 &mu;g/ml at 24 h and to 2.747 &plusmn; 0.548 &mu;g/ml at 48 h incubation and was significantly less than that of in the control group. Hydrolysed fumonisin B1 was detected after 24 h incubation (0.012 &plusmn; 0 &mu;g/ml). At 48 h incubation time, hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration was doubled to 0.024 &plusmn; 0.004 &mu;g/ml. These results indicate that fumonisin B1 can be metabolised by caecal microbiota in pigs though the number of studied bacteria did not change

Effect of diet supplementation with live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on growth performance, caecal ecosystem and health of growing rabbits

[EN] The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the growth performance, caecal ecosystem and overall health of growing rabbits. A control diet was formulated (crude protein: 15.9%; neutral detergent fibre: 31.6%) and another diet obtained by supplementing the control diet with 1 g of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (6.5×109 colony-forming units) per kg of diet. Ninety 35-d old rabbits were allotted into 3 groups: TT (rabbits offered the supplemented diet from 17 d of age onwards), CT (rabbits offered supplemented diet from 35 d) and CC (rabbits fed non-supplemented diet). Body weight (BW) and feed intake were measured weekly and mortality was controlled daily. At 35, 42 and 77 d of age, 6 rabbits from each group were slaughtered and digestive physiological traits, serum clinical chemistry parameters, fermentation traits, and the composition of caecal microbiota examined. At 42 and 56 d of age, 10 rabbits from each group were injected intraperitoneally with 100 μg/animal of ovalbumin and blood samples were collected for examination of plasma immunological parameters. Throughout the experiment (5-11 wk), weight gain and feed intake (37.8 and 112.6 g/d, on av.) were not affected by yeast, except for weight gain in the first week after weaning, which was the highest in TT animals among the 3 groups (48.1 vs. 43.9 and 44.2 g/d for TT, CC and CT, respectively; P=0.012). This may be due to the increased trend in feed intake (P=0.072) in the TT group (96.4 g/d) compared to the others. Mortality (5/90) was low and did not differ among the 3 groups. Treatments had no effect on slaughter traits at the 3 sampling dates (35, 42 and 77 d). Only the weight of the empty caecum (% BW) was higher (P=0.02) in CC (2.2%) and CT (2.3%) than in TT group (1.8%) at 77 d of age. Treatments did not overtly affect the caecal microbiota, although the number of total anaerobic bacteria and Bacteroides were lower (108 and 107/g caecal digesta, respectively) in rabbits from CC group compared to those of CT and TT groups at 42 d of age (P=0.03). No difference between groups was observed for caecal short chain fatty acids profile, blood traits, or IgG and cytokine profile. In conclusion, supplementation of feed with yeast did not modify growth traits and resulted in only a temporary increase in weight gain and a slightly altered caecal microbiota after weaning.Belhassen, T.; Bonai, A.; Gerencsér, Z.; Matics, Z.; Tuboly, T.; Bergaoui, R.; Kovacs, M. (2016). Effect of diet supplementation with live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on growth performance, caecal ecosystem and health of growing rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 24(3):191-200. doi:10.4995/wrs.2016.3991.SWORD19120024