Effect of Salvia miltiorrhiza aerial parts on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and digestive enzymes in rabbits

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Salvia miltiorrhiza (S.m.) aerial parts as an alternative ingredient on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and digestive enzymes in growing rabbits.Methods: Treatments included five tested diets: a control (basal diet), antibiotic (basal diet+enramycin at 5 mg/kg), and S.m. aerial parts powder added at 3.0, 6.0 and 9.0% of feed using 300 growing rabbits. Results:The diets with S.m. aerial parts addition at 9.0% decreased (p<0.05) feed/gain compared to the control, but there were no differences in feed intake and body weight gain. In contrast with the control, the addition of antibiotic increased (p<0.05) digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, energy, fiber, and ash. The herb addition did not cause differences in the digestibility of most nutrients compared to the antibiotic, but fiber digestibility of the herb at 6.0 and 9.0% was lower (p<0.05) than that of the antibiotic. Moreover, the antibiotic and the herb also similarly increased (p<0.05) the activities of duodenal α-amylase, maltase, lipase, and trypsin, compared to the control, and the herb at 6.0 and 9.0% showed a greater (p<0.05) activity of elastase than the dose 3.0%. Conclusion:The obtained data indicate that S.m. aerial parts can be a potential forage in rabbit's diet at 9.0% with a beneficial regulation on nutrition and digestion.

Effect of Broussonetia papyrifera leaf meal on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and gut health status of growing rabbits

“…Weaned rabbits grow and develop fast, and their digestive system development is lagging behind, leading to the insufficient secretion of gastric acid and digestive enzymes. This can cause subclinical health problems of the intestine, such as slight diarrhoea (Wang et al 2019;Wang et al 2021). The insignificantly low diarrhoea and mortality rate in the BP groups in the present study implies that the BP can alleviate the intestinal subclinical problems.…”

“…No information about the effect of BP or BP extracts on the intestinal integrity is available. Based on the fact that plants containing flavonoids and polyphenols can protect intestinal health (Ding et al 2019;Zhao et al 2020;Wang et al 2021), it can be deduced that the BP With the increasing BP doses, there were linear increases in the species richness of caecal microbiota for ACE (P = 0.024) and Chao-1 (P = 0.026).…”

“…Whether the BP can be an alternative for traditional roughages in small herbivores is unclear. Commercial meat-type rabbits grow fast but with a susceptible body constitution, which can cause subclinical health problems in many organs, especially in the small intestine and the caecum (Wang et al 2021). Furthermore, traditional roughage resources are becoming scarcer and scarcer, so herbal or medicinal plants woody with a high yield as well as an appreciable nutritional value may be a source worthy of being explored.…”

The effects of herbal plant extract on the growth performance, blood parameters, nutrient digestibility and carcase quality of rabbits: A meta-analysis

“… [ 19 ] 0–2 Powder Red Hot Pepper ( Capsicum frutescens ) 56 NZ White BWG, FCR, ADG, Mortality, ADFI, RBC, WBC, Lymphocyte, Haemoglobin, HDL, LDL, igG, IgM, Carcass, slaughtered weight, kidney, liver, heart, 15. [ 16 ] 0–0.9 Powder Red Sage ( Salvia miltiorrhiza ) 35–63 Hyla FCR, ADG, Mortality, ADFI 16. [ 25 ] 0–0.02 Powder Alligator Pepper ( Aframomum melegueta ) 56 NZ White BWG, FCR, Mortality, ADFI, Carcass, slaughtered weight, kidney, liver, heart 17.…”

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