Effect of biologically upgraded cocoa pod husk meal on growth, serum and antioxidant properties of two rabbit breeds

Abstract

Background The study evaluated the growth performance, haemabiochemical and antioxidant profile of two breeds of rabbits fed diets containing varying levels of Rhizopus stolonifer fermented cocoa pod husk meal (FCPHM). Cocoa pod husk meal was taken through solid-state fermentation for a period of 2 weeks using Rhizopus stolonifer as its starter culture. One hundred and eighty, 5-week-old unsexed weaned rabbits 90 New Zealand white (NZW) and 90 Chinchilla (CHL) were randomly allocated into three dietary treatments, Diets I, II and III (0%, 12.5 and 25%FCPHM, respectively), and were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial design (2 breeds and 3 diets) of a randomized block design. Results The study showed that the breed effect and dietary treatment were significant (p < 0.01) for total weight gain and feed conversion ratio with NZW breed fed 12.5% FCPHM having higher values than CHL breed. Serum total protein concentration was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the dietary treatment, while alanine aminotransferase, globulin and total protein concentrations were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by the breed effect. The interactive effect of breed and dietary treatment was only significant (p < 0.05) for serum albumin concentration. Malondialdehyde concentration was significantly influenced by both dietary treatments (p < 0.05) and breed (p < 0.001) factors. Conclusion It was observed that CHL rabbits were more predisposed to stress than the NZW rabbits as indicated by the lipid peroxidation values, and according to this present finding, 12.5% FCPHM is recommended as active feed ingredient in rabbit diets.

How does cocoa waste affect health? A systematic review

“…www.food.actapol.net/ not significant. However, the group given FCPHM 25% actually had the lowest total body weight (Olugosi et al, 2021). The research results in the group of rats given SCFP showed a significantly lower food intake compared to the control group, even in the group receiving a normocholesterolemic diet (Ramos et al, 2008;Sánchez et al, 2010).…”

“…Across the studies, in groups treated with a cocoa fruit husk diet, total serum protein was higher compared to control groups (Adeyeye et al, 2017;Olugosi et al, 2021). Although one study reported a slight decrease after treatment with higher CPH concentrations (30%), it was still higher than in the group given a CPCH-free diet (control) (Adeyeye et al, 2017).…”

“…In another study, there was weight loss, a decrease in body mass index, and a reduction in waist circumference in patients receiving cocoa husk cookie, although the results were not significantly different from the placebo group (León-Flores et al, 2020). Conversely, another study indicated a significant increase in total final body weight and weight change in rabbits fed with 12.5% FCPHM; although the results also showed an influence of rabbit type on the final body weight, it was (Ramos et al, 2008), soluble cocoa fiber product (SCFP) (Sánchez et al, 2010), cookies and CPH extract (CCPHE) (Hidalgo et al, 2019), fermented cocoa pod husk meal (FCPHM) (Olugosi et al, 2021), cocoa husk cookies (CHC) (León-Flores et al, 2020).…”

“…2 Elevating serum protein Diet containing CPH (Adeyeye et al, 2017), FCPHM (Olugosi et al, 2021), CPH extract (CPHE) (Cura et al, 2021).…”