Dietary lipid sources for growing rabbits: A review on animal health and productivity

Abstract

Studies that explore the use of lipids and their effects on animal nutrition have become increasingly abundant, producing a mass of information. The review was carried out on a parity basis through a survey of articles in the bibliographic databases: Web of Science and Periodicals Capes, using search terms associated or not, in the plural or singular, in English and Portuguese, such as: “lipids” AND “rabbits" AND "nutrition". After analyzing the files in the two scientific databases, certain files were excluded because they did not fit the theme or because they did not meet the inclusion criteria and repeated articles. A relevance test was carried out for the use of the articles, where they should deal with the subject: articles that report the use of lipids in the nutrition of non-ruminant animals; articles made available in complete form; articles that had at least one of the keywords; articles where the main subject is related to lipids. The articles were selected and tabulated in an Excel® spreadsheet with relevant information for exploration in the review. The use of oils and fats is a favorable point in the nutrition of non-ruminant animals, presenting benefits in the enrichment of final products such as: providing higher levels of omega-3 and omega-6, and thus obtaining meat products with lower levels of saturated fat and higher unsaturated fat contents promoting benefits to human health through its consumption, reduction of food costs, improvement in palatability and appearance of foods. These are nutritional strategies used in hot seasons of the year due to the low calorific increment produced.