Effect of dietary supplementation with insect fats on growth performance, digestive efficiency and health of rabbits

Background: The present work aimed at evaluating the effect of the dietary replacement of soybean oil (S) by two types of insect fats extracted from black soldier fly larvae (H, Hermetia illucens L.) and yellow mealworm larvae (T, Tenebrio molitor L.) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, intestinal morphology and health of growing rabbits. Methods: At weaning, 200 crossbred rabbits (36 days old) were allotted to five dietary treatments (40 rabbits/group): a control diet (C) containing 1.5% of soybean oil and four experimental diets where soybean oil was partially (50%) or totally (100%) substituted by H (H50 and H100) or T (T50 and T100) fats. Total tract digestibility was evaluated on 12 rabbits per treatment. The growth trial lasted 41 d and, at slaughtering (78 days old), blood samples were collected from 15 rabbits per treatment, morphometric analyses were performed on duodenum, jejunum and ileum mucosa, and samples of liver, spleen and kidney were submitted to histological evaluation. Results: No difference was observed between the control and the experimental groups fed insect fats in terms of performance, morbidity, mortality and blood variables. The addition of H and T fats did not influence apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter, protein, ether extract, fibre fractions and gross energy. Gut morphometric indices and organ histopathology were not affected by dietary inclusion of H and T fats. Conclusions: H and T fats are suitable sources of lipid in rabbit diets to replace soybean oil without any detrimental effect on growth performance, apparent digestibility, gut mucosa traits and health

PHARMACOKINETIC AND PHARMACODYNAMIC EVALUATIONS OF A 10 MG/KG ENROFLOXACIN INTRAMUSCULAR ADMINISTRATION IN BEARDED DRAGONS (POGONA VITTICEPS)

Objective: Enrofloxacin (E) is commonly used in veterinary medicine. It is necessary to perform pharmacokinetic/dynamic studies to minimize the selection of resistant mutants of bacteria and extend the efficacy of antimicrobial agents. Materials & Methods: Eight healthy adult Pogona vitticeps were assigned into two groups of equal size and treated with a single intramuscular injection of E at 10 mg/kg. Blood samples were withdrawn at different scheduled times for each group and rectal swabs were collected. E and ciprofloxacin (active metabolite) blood concentrations were quantified by an HPLC validated method, while the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility was evaluated by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility test. Results & Conclusion: The pharmacokinetic profiles of E gave similar pharmacokinetic parameters irrespective of the collection time schedule. Bacteria isolation showed the presence of both E. coli, Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica and subspecies 3a, Proteus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. The majority of isolated colonies were sensitive to E, but the treatment did not reduce the number of bacteria in faeces. Results suggest that E is able to reach blood concentrations high enough to kill susceptible bacteria (MIC < 0.9 µg/mL), but at the same time does not significantly affect intestinal bacteria

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations of a 10 mg/kg enrofloxacin intramuscular administration in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps): A preliminary assessment

Enrofloxacin (E) is commonly used in veterinary medicine. It is necessary to perform pharmacokinetic/dynamic studies to minimize the selection of resistant mutants of bacteria and extend the efficacy of antimicrobial agents. Eight healthy adult Pogona vitticeps were assigned into two groups of equal size and treated with a single intramuscular injection of E at 10 mg/kg. Blood samples were withdrawn at different scheduled times for each group, and rectal swabs were collected. E and ciprofloxacin (active metabolite) blood concentrations were quantified by an HPLC validated method, while the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility was evaluated by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion susceptibility test. The pharmacokinetic profiles of E gave similar pharmacokinetic parameters irrespective of the collection time schedule. Bacteria isolation showed the presence of both E. coli, Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica and subspecies 3a, Proteus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. The majority of isolated colonies were sensitive to E, but the treatment did not reduce the number of bacteria in faeces. Results suggest that E is able to reach blood concentrations high enough to kill susceptible bacteria (MIC < 0.9 μg/mL), but at the same time does not significantly affect intestinal bacteria. 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd