Assessment of a natural dietary extract, titrated in phenylpropanoid glycosides, on blood parameters and plasma oxidative status in intensively reared Italian hares (Lepus corsicanus)

Abstract

Two different doses of a natural extract titrated in phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs) were evaluated for their effect on blood parameters and plasma oxidative status in pairs of intensively reared Italian hares. The study lasted 210 days, during which 45 couples of hares were divided into three homogeneous groups. A control group (CON) was fed a control diet while the two experimental groups were fed a diet supplemented with 1 or 2 kg/t of a supplement titrated in PPGs. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 70, 140 and 210 days and assayed for plasma lipid profiles, bilirubin, haematological parameters and indicators of oxidative status (reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), vitamins A and E). Although dietary treatment did affect the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and total bilirubin, all of which decreased markedly ( P , 0.05), while significantly increasing the ( P , 0.01) HDL cholesterol values, it also significantly improved the oxidative status of the blood, which displayed an increase in both vitamin E ( P , 0.01) and vitamin A ( P , 0.05) and a decrease in ROMs ( P , 0.01) and TBARS ( P , 0.05). The improvements in the blood parameters, lipid profile and plasma oxidative status continued to increase significantly as the trial progressed, indicating a positive effect with increased length of treatment. The results of this study demonstrate an important role for feed supplementation with respect to antioxidant activity on some blood parameters, including the lipid profile and the oxidative status of blood.

The effects of lemon verbena (<i>Lippia citriodora</i>) verbascoside on the productive performance, plasma oxidative status, and some blood metabolites in suckling lambs

“…In the present study, dietary supplementation with VB resulted in an improvement in the plasma oxidative status as observed in our earlier works (Casamassima et al, , 2012Palazzo et al, 2011). This result might be attributed to the ability of polyphenols to neutralize free-radical production at the stage of propagation of the chain reaction (Funes et al, 2009) or to inhibit the activity of prooxidant enzymes responsible for their production, thus protecting both LDL lipids and the α-tocopherol of LDL from the attack of radicals (Cos et al, 2002), and promoting regeneration of the radical forms of α-tocopherol (Zhou et al, 2005).…”

“…Improvement of lipid profiles was observed in our earlier work on Italian hares (Lepus corsicanus), rabbits, and dairy ewes intensively reared and fed diets supplemented with water-soluble extracts of Verbenaceae (Lippia spp.) leaves (Casamassima et al, , 2012Palazzo et al, 2011). In particular, a decrease of total cholesterol and triglycerides and an increase of HDL-C was found.…”

“…In our studies carried out to assess the physiological effects of dietary supplements with antioxidant activity (Casamassima et al, , 2012Palazzo et al, 2011), a significant decrease of plasma levels of ROMs and TBARS was observed. Also Li et al (1999) reported similar results in a study on skeletal muscles of rats that were subjected to effort.…”

“…In our previous research (Casamassima et al, , 2012Palazzo et al, 2011) on the brown hair rabbit, and dairy sheep using verbascoside as a dietary feed, a general improvement of blood lipid profiles, plasmatic oxidative status, in particular, significant decreases of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and an increase of endogenous vitamin A and E reserves were noted. Also, a marked increase in the milk yield of ewes was demonstrated.…”

Effect of dietary phenylpropanoid glycoside-based natural extracts on blood parameters and productive performance in intensively-reared young hares

“…The better oxidative profile was highlighted by a significant decrease in the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) and, in lambs, also by a marked increase in blood concentrations of vitamins E and A. In similar experiments, by feeding pairs of Italian hares (Lepus corsicanus) a concentrate supplemented with verbascoside, Palazzo et al (2011) found an increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) and a significant reduction in blood triglycerides, total cholesterol, and bilirubin. The authors also reported an improvement in oxidative plasma stability resulting in an increased content of vitamins A and E and a decrease in the concentrations of TBARS and ROMs.…”