Open AccessEffects of garlic (Allium sativum ) and vitamin E on blood profile, growth performance and internal organ characteristics of rabbit bucks
Author(s) -
W. Amaduruonye,
B. O. Ekuma,
D. N. Onunkwo,
U. Herbert
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nigerian journal of animal production
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0331-2062
DOI - 10.51791/njap.v44i4.513
Subject(s) - allium sativum , vitamin e , vitamin , biology , vitamin c , antioxidant , completely randomized design , zoology , white blood cell , medicine , food science , endocrinology , biochemistry , immunology , botany
Studies have shown that garlic has medicinal, antimicrobial properties, speeds up digestion and widely used as preservatives, spice and condimentin many homes. Vitamin E on the other hand is a fat soluble vitamin with potent antioxidant properties essential for the stabilization of biological membranes, protecting cells from oxidative stress and inhibits angiogenesis. Thus, a study using thirty-six (36) pre-pubertal New Zealand White rabbit bucks was conducted to investigate the response of garlic and vitamin E supplementation on haematological indices, serum biochemistry and growth performance. The bucks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments and replicated three times in a completely randomized design (CRD). Each dietary treatment consisted of rabbits per treatment with 3 rabbits per replicate. Four dietary treatments were formulated to meet the nutrient requirements of rabbits supplemented at 0% garlic and vitamin E (T ), 3% garlic (T ), Vitamin E (T ), and 3% garlic and Vitamin E (T ) respectively. Data collected on the growth performance, haematology and serum biochemistry parameters and on the internal organ characteristics were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed that significantincrease (P<0.05) were observed in final body weight, ear length, forelimb, hind- limb and body length for rabbits fed supplementation of garlic, vitamin E and its combination, while tail length, head to shoulder significantly decreases. Hematological parameters showed significant increases in red blood cellcount for vitaminE group while T was higher on MCHC. White blood cell and its differentials increased significantly on T, T and T Serum biochemical characteristics were significantly higher on total protein, globulin and creatinine; while cholesterol, glucose and ALP reduced significantly on T , T and T It could be concluded that combination of garlic and vitamin E improved performance and blood profile of rabbit bucks compared to when they are used individually.