Effects of Dietary <i>Acacia nilotica</i> Fruit, Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Combination on Productive Performance, Zinc Retention, and Blood Biochemistry of Rabbits
Ahmed A. A. Abdel-Wareth,
Hazem G. M. El-Sayed,
Abdel-Wahab A. Abdel-Warith,
Elsayed M. Younis,
Hamdi A. Hassan,
Afifi S. Afifi,
Ghadir A. El-Chaghaby,
Sayed Rashad,
Shimaa A. Amer,
Jayant Lohakare
Affiliations
Ahmed A. A. Abdel-Wareth
Department of Animal and Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Hazem G. M. El-Sayed
Regional Center for Food and Feed, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12619, Egypt
Abdel-Wahab A. Abdel-Warith
Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saudi University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Elsayed M. Younis
Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saudi University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Hamdi A. Hassan
Department of Animal and Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Afifi S. Afifi
Department of Animal and Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Ghadir A. El-Chaghaby
Regional Center for Food and Feed, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12619, Egypt
Sayed Rashad
Regional Center for Food and Feed, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12619, Egypt
Shimaa A. Amer
Department of Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
Jayant Lohakare
Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA
This study aims to examine the effects of supplementing male rabbit diets with nanoparticles of zinc oxide (Nano-ZnO) and Acacia nilotica fruit powder (ANFP) on production sustainability under hot climatic conditions. Eighty Californian male rabbits aged 40 days old (average body weight 738.5 ± 11 g) were divided into four treatment groups and administered one of the following diets: control diet, Nano-ZnO (50 mg/kg), ANFP (5 g/kg), or a combination of Nano-ZnO (50 mg/kg) and ANFP (5 g/kg) for a period of 60 days. Each of the 20 rabbits used in a treatment was regarded as a replicate. The results showed that adding Nano-ZnO and ANFP individually or in combination to rabbits’ diets improved (p p p < 0.05) by supplementation of Nano-ZnO, ANFP, or their combination. Carcass criteria did not differ among the treatments. Overall, the findings of the present study indicate that rabbits fed diets containing Nano-ZnO and ANFP, as well as their combination, showed improvements in growth performance, kidney and liver functions, as well as zinc retention in tissues under hot climatic conditions. The combination of Nano-ZnO and ANFP exhibited the best performance in the rabbits. More research on the synergistic effects of Nano-ZnO and ANFP in the sustainable production of rabbit meat is required.
