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Physiological parameters and productive performance of rabbit does and their offsprings with dietary supplementation of soy lecithin

Parâmetros fisiológicos e desempenho produtivo de coelhas e suas ninhadas com suplementação dietética de lecitina de soja

Abstract:

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of a dietary supplementation with soy lecithin (SL) on the productive performance and blood constituents of rabbit females and their offsprings. A total of 40 rabbits does were distributed into four treatments: control group, no dietary SL inclusion; and three groups with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% SL inclusion in the diets. The inclusion of 1.5% SL increased the count of blood cells and hemoglobin concentrations; 0.5-1.0% SL reduced the total cholesterol levels in the blood, as well as the low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and the activities of the enzymes alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase, but increased the levels of total lipids, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes. Supplementation with 1.0-1.5% SL resulted in higher milk production and heavier litters. Soy lecithin supplementation at 1% improves the physiological parameters and increases the milk production of rabbit does, also improving the performances of their offsprings.

Index terms:
animal nutrition; animal reproduction; soybean byproduct

Resumo:

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da suplementação dietética com lecitina de soja (LS) sobre o desempenho produtivo e os constituintes sanguíneos de coelhas e suas ninhadas. Um total de 40 coelhas foi distribuído em quatro tratamentos: grupo-controle, sem inclusão de LS; e três grupos com 0,5, 1,0 e 1,5% de inclusão de LS nas dietas. A inclusão de 1,5% de LS aumentou a contagem de células sanguíneas e a concentração de hemoglobina; 0,5-1,0% de LS reduziu os níveis sanguíneos de colesterol total, assim como os de lipoproteína de baixa densidade e as atividades das enzimas fosfatase alcalina, aspartato aminotransferase e alanina aminotransferase, mas aumentou os níveis de lipídios totais, triglicérides, lipoproteína de alta densidade e as atividades das enzimas antioxidantes. A suplementação com LS a 1,0-1,5% resultou em maior produção de leite e ninhadas mais pesadas. A suplementação com lecitina de soja a 1% melhora os parâmetros fisiológicos e aumenta a produção de leite em coelhas, tendo melhorado também o desempenho das ninhadas.

Termos para indexação:
nutrição animal; reprodução animal; subproduto da soja

Introduction

Soy lecithin (SL) is a by-product derived from the processing of soybean oil. It consists of phospholipids and small amounts of glycolipids and carbohydrates (Behr et al., 2011BEHR, M.; OEHLMANN, J.; WAGNER, M. Estrogens in the daily diet: in vitro analysis indicates that estrogenic activity is omnipresent in foodstuff and infant formula. Food and Chemical Toxicology, v.49, p.2681-2688, 2011. DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2011.07.039.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2011.07.03...
), and it has been used as an emulsifier, antioxidant, and nutritional supplement. The inclusion of SL in animal diets enables the improvement of the antioxidant profile (Attia & Kamel, 2012ATTIA, Y.A.; KAMEL, I.K. Semen quality, testosterone, seminal plasma biochemical and antioxidant profiles of rabbit bucks fed diets supplemented with different concentrations of soybean lecithin. Animal, v.6, p.824-833, 2012. DOI: 10.1017/S1751731111002229.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S175173111100222...
). The average content of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and inositol phosphatides of SL is 19-21, 8-20, and 20-21%, respectively (Scholfield, 1981 SCHOLFIELD, C.R. Composition of soybean lecithin. Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, v.58, p.889-892, 1981. DOI: 10.1007/BF02659652.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02659652...
), and the content of phosphatidylserine is 0.2-6.3% (Liu & Ma, 2011 LIU, D.; MA, F. Soybean phospholipids. In: KREZHOVA, D. (Ed.). Soybean phospholipids, recent trends for enhancing the diversity and quality of soybean products. Rijeka: InTech, 2011. p.483-500. DOI: 10.5772/20986.
https://doi.org/10.5772/20986...
).

Diets supplemented with SL may result in lower levels of total cholesterol (Attia & Kamel, 2012ATTIA, Y.A.; KAMEL, I.K. Semen quality, testosterone, seminal plasma biochemical and antioxidant profiles of rabbit bucks fed diets supplemented with different concentrations of soybean lecithin. Animal, v.6, p.824-833, 2012. DOI: 10.1017/S1751731111002229.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S175173111100222...
) and of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) (Mourad et al., 2010MOURAD, A.M.; PINCINATO, E. de C.; MAZZOLA, P.G.; SABHA, M.; MORIEL, P. Influence of soy lecithin administration on hypercholesterolemia. Cholesterol, ID824813, 2010. Available at: <Available at: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cholesterol/2010/824813 />. Accessed on: July 5 2016.
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/choleste...
). According to LeBlanc et al. (2003)LEBLANC, M.-J.; BRUNET, S.; BOUCHARD, G.; LAMIREAU, T.; YOUSEF, I.M.; GAVINO, V.; LÉVY, E.; TUCHWEBER, B. Effects of dietary soybean lecithin on plasma lipid transport and hepatic cholesterol metabolism in rats. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, v.14, p.40-48, 2003. DOI: 10.1016/S0955-2863(02)00253-X.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0955-2863(02)00...
, lecithin can stimulate the bile formation and biliary cholesterol secretion due to the inhibition of the acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase enzyme. Activity of the serum enzymes aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase can be decreased due to the SL supplementation in the diets of rabbits (Attia & Kamel, 2012ATTIA, Y.A.; KAMEL, I.K. Semen quality, testosterone, seminal plasma biochemical and antioxidant profiles of rabbit bucks fed diets supplemented with different concentrations of soybean lecithin. Animal, v.6, p.824-833, 2012. DOI: 10.1017/S1751731111002229.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S175173111100222...
).

In addition, the reproduction performance and kit survival are energetically expensive, and rabbit does are susceptible to an intense body-energy deficit during lactation. The body condition of rabbit females reaches a peak 10 days before kindling and, from this moment on, the reproductive female undergoes the highest-body reserves mobilization (Pascual et al., 2013PASCUAL, J.J.; SAVIETTO, D.; CERVERA, C.; BASELGA, M. Resources allocation in reproductive rabbit does: a review of feeding and genetic strategies for suitable performance. World Rabbit Science, v.21, p.123-144, 2013. DOI: 10.4995/wrs.2013.1236.
https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2013.1236...
). Soy lecithin may be useful as it improves the lipid absorption in the gut (Roy et al., 2010 ROY, A.; HALDAR, S.; MONDAL, S.; GHOSH, T.K. Effects of supplemental exogenous emulsifier on performance, nutrient metabolism, and serum lipid profile in broiler chickens. Veterinary Medicine International, v.2010, art.ID262604, 2010. Available at: <Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2910456/pdf/VMI2010-262604.pdf >. Accessed on: Sept. 23 2015.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...
), increasing the energy availability to the does that will have a higher-energy supply for milk production.

The objective of this work was to determine the effect of feeding dietary levels of soy lecithin on the physiological status (blood constituents and antioxidant status, as well as enzyme activities) and productive performance of rabbit does and their litter.

Materials and Methods

The present study was conducted at El-Sabahiea Poultry Research Station (Alexandria - Egypt), which is a part of the Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, from October, 2009, to April, 2010. The experiment design was approved by the Scientific and Ethics Committee of the Animal Production Research Institute (protocol no. 04-05-03-37).

Forty nulliparous six-month-old V-line doe rabbits, mean body weight 3,583±240 g, were distributed in a completely randomized design, with four dietary treatments, and 10 replicates. Rabbit does were mated with adult male rabbits that were not supplemented with SL.

Rabbit does were housed in a naturally ventilated building and kept in individual cages (60×55×40 cm) equipped with an internal nest-box. Air temperature and relative humidity inside the rabbitry were daily recorded using an electronic digital thermo-hygrometer during the experimental period. The average ambient temperature and relative humidity inside the building were 30.8±0.22?C and 81.4±1.05% respectively.

Rabbits were given pelleted feed and fresh water ad libitum. Rabbit does were fed the supplemented diets, starting from one month before the day they were mated until the 35th day of the 3rd lactation (Table 1).

Table 1.
Ingredients and chemical composition of the experimental diets offered to V-line rabbit does.

The reproductive rhythm was semi-intensive according to Attia et al. (2009)ATTIA, Y.A.; HUSSEIN, A.S.; TAG EL-DIN, A.E.; QOTA, E.M.; ABED EL-GHANY, A.I.; EL-SUDANY, A.M. Improving productive and reproductive performance of dual-purpose crossbred hens in the tropics by lecithin supplementation. Tropical Animal Health and Production, v.41, p.461-475, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/s11250-008-9209-3.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-008-9209-...
, and rabbit does were resubjected to natural mating 11 days after delivery (42-day-inter-pupping interval) using 20 bucks with 6 to 7 months of age. Bucks were kept under similar management and hygienic conditions, and fed the same control diet of does, without soy lecithin inclusion (Extracted Oils & Derivatives, Damahour, Egypt). Mating was carried out in the morning at random, thus each female had the same chance to meet with the same male and vice-versa. Each rabbit doe was transferred to the buck’s cage for mating (two services within 30 min by the same buck), and returned to its cage after copulation.

Pregnancy was diagnosed by abdominal palpation at 10 days after mating, and those shown to be nonpregnant were subjected to another mating until it became pregnant. The rabbit does that failed to become pregnant after three successive natural matings were discarded from the experiment and replaced by another one.

Treatments consisted of a control group (with no SL inclusion), and SL inclusion levels at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% in pelleted diets of (Table 1). The determination of the SL fatty acid profile in the diets was performed with the use of Shimadzu Gas Chromatograph GC-4CM (Shimadzu Corp., Kyoto, Japan), with a field-effect mobility (pFE) connected to a glass column (3 m × 3.1 mm ID) packed with 5% diethylene glycol succinate (DEGS), and equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID) according to Radwan (1978) RADWAN, S.S. Coupling of two-dimension thin-layer chromatography with gas chromatography for the quantitative analysis of lipid classes and their constituent fatty acids. Journal of Chromatographic Science, v.16, p.538-542, 1978. DOI: 10.1093/chromsci/16.11.538.
https://doi.org/10.1093/chromsci/16.11.5...
. Fatty acid composition of the experimental diets is listed in Table 2.

Table 2.
Fatty acid content of soy lecithin and of the experimental diets (g kg-1 total fatty acids).

Six blood samples per treatment were collected from the marginal ear veins, in heparinized tubes, on the 10th day after mating. Blood plasma was obtained by centrifugation of the samples at 1,750g for 20 min, and then they were stored at -20°C, until use for biochemical analysis. Hemoglobin concentration, red and white blood cell counts, and packed-cell volume (PCV) were recorded; mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), and mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were referred to as absolute value, in which MCV(fL)=PCV(%)/RBC(106mm3); MCH(pg/RBC)=Hb(g dL1)/RBC(106mm3); and MCHC(gdL1)=Hb(g dL1)/PCV(%).

Plasma levels of glucose, total protein, albumin, urea, creatinine, total lipids, phospholipids, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and the activities of the enzymes acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), were determined using commercial kits produced by Diamond Diagnostics Company (Dokki district, Giza, Egypt). Globulin was calculated by the differences between total protein and albumin.

Total antioxidant capacity and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) (Costa et al., 2006COSTA, C.M. da; SANTOS, R.C.C. dos; LIMA, E.S. A simple automated procedure for thiol measurement in human serum samples. Jornal Brasileiro de Patologia e Medicina Laboratorial, v.42, p.345-350, 2006. DOI: 10.1590/S1676-24442006000500006.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1676-2444200600...
), glutathione content (Beutler et al., 1963 BEUTLER, E.; DURON, O.; KELLY, B.M. Improved method for the determination of blood glutathione. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, v.61, p.882-888, 1963.), and the activities of glutathione S-transferase (Habig et al., 1974HABIG, W.H.; PABST, M.J.; JAKOBY, W.B. Glutathione S-transferases. The first enzymatic step in mercapturic acid formation. Journal of Biological Chemistry, v.249, p.7130-7139, 1974.), glutathione peroxidase (Chiu et al., 1976CHIU, D.T.Y.; STULTS, F.H.; TAPPEL, A.L. Purification and properties of rat lung soluble glutathione peroxidase. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, v.445, p.558-566, 1976. DOI: 10.1016/0005-2744(76)90110-8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-2744(76)901...
), and superoxide dismutase (Misra & Fridovich, 1972 MISRA, H.P.; FRIDOVICH, I. The role of superoxide anion in the autoxidation of epinephrine and a simple assay for superoxide dismutase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, v.247, p.3170-3175, 1972.) where determined to assess the plasma antioxidant activity.

Offspring performances were determined by litter size (alive), kit’s body weight at birth, 14th and 28thday of age. The survival rate of offsprings, from kindling to weaning, was also determined. On the parturition day, the doe was separated from the litter and taken to the nest only once a day, in the morning, for 15-20 min, to nurse the kits. At this moment, the doe was weighed before and after nursing, to determine, by difference, the total milk production (Attia et al., 2011ATTIA, Y.A.; AL-HANOUN, A.; BOVERA, F. Effect of different levels of bee pollen on performance and blood profile of New Zealand white bucks and growth performance of their offspring during summer and winter months. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, v.95, p.17-26, 2011. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2009.00967.x.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0396.2009...
) at birth, and at the 14th and 28th days after parturition. Daily feed intake was also recorded.

Data were analyzed using the software Sisvar (Ferreira, 2011FERREIRA, D.F. Sisvar: a computer statistical analysis system. Ciência e Agrotecnologia, v.35, p.1039-1042, 2011. DOI: 10.1590/S1413-70542011000600001.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-7054201100...
), and the Tuckey’s test was used to detect significant differences among the means, at 5% probability. Litter size was used as a covariable for milk production analysis. Survival rate data were arc sin-transformed before analysis. The following statistical model was used: Yij=μ+ti+εij, where Yij is the dependent variable; μ is the general mean; ti is the effect of the SL level; and εij is the random experimental error.

Results and Discussion

Soy lecithin inclusion at 0.5% was enough to increase the red blood cells; 1% inclusion resulted in higher values of hemoglobin and of mean cell hemoglobin concentration, and lower values of mean cell volume; and 1.5% improved white cell counts (Table 3).

Table 3.
Effect of dietary levels of soybean lecithin (SL) inclusion on the hematological constituents of V-Line rabbit does(1).

The use of rations containing 0.5% SL [+57% polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), in comparison to the control group] was enough to increase the red blood cell counts, in comparison to white blood cell ones. The content of PUFA in red cell membrane is linearly related to the consumption, but the membrane of white cells does not show a dose-responsive increase in PUFA (Witte et al., 2010WITTE, T.R.; SALAZAR, A.J.; BALLESTER, O.F.; HARDMAN, W.E. RBC and WBC fatty acid composition following consumption of an omega 3 supplement: lessons for future clinical trials. Lipids Health and Disease, v.9, art.31, 2010. Available at <Available at http://www.lipidworld.com/content/9/1/31 >. Accessed on: July 5 2016.
http://www.lipidworld.com/content/9/1/31...
). The high-PUFA content in blood cell membranes and the high-iron and O2 concentration in hemoglobin make these cells sensible to oxidative injuries (Hou et al., 2014HOU, X.; ZHANG, J.; AHMAD, H.; ZHANG, H.; XU, Z.; WANG, T. Evaluation of antioxidant activities of ampelopsin and its protective effect in lipopolysaccharide-induced oxidative stress piglets. PLoS ONE, v.9, e108314, 2014. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108314.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.010...
) caused by different external or internal stimuli. Soy lecithin showed a positive effect on blood cells due to its phospholipids content (Attia et al., 2009ATTIA, Y.A.; HUSSEIN, A.S.; TAG EL-DIN, A.E.; QOTA, E.M.; ABED EL-GHANY, A.I.; EL-SUDANY, A.M. Improving productive and reproductive performance of dual-purpose crossbred hens in the tropics by lecithin supplementation. Tropical Animal Health and Production, v.41, p.461-475, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/s11250-008-9209-3.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-008-9209-...
; Attia & Kamel 2012ATTIA, Y.A.; KAMEL, I.K. Semen quality, testosterone, seminal plasma biochemical and antioxidant profiles of rabbit bucks fed diets supplemented with different concentrations of soybean lecithin. Animal, v.6, p.824-833, 2012. DOI: 10.1017/S1751731111002229.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S175173111100222...
) which is incorporated into these cell membranes (Faber et al., 2011FABER, J.; BERKHOUT, M.; VOS, A.P.; SIJBEN, J.W.C.; CALDER, P.C.; GARSSEN, J.; HELVOORT, A. van. Supplementation with a fish oil-enriched, high-protein medical food leads to rapid incorporation of EPA into white blood cells and modulates immune responses within one week in healthy men and women. Journal of Nutrition, v.141, p.964-970, 2011. DOI: 10.3945/jn.110.132985.
https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.110.132985...
), reducing the oxidative damage on these cells, and avoiding their apoptosis and, hence, improving the hemoglobin and mean cell hemoglobin concentration values.

Compared to the control group, the levels of total lipid (+17.66%), triglycerides (+16.10%), and HDL (+33.93%) increased when SL was added in the diets at 1.5, 0.5%, and 1.0%, respectively; and reduced total cholesterol (-7.20%) and LDL (-17.08%) concentrations, when it was included at 1.0 and 0.5%, respectively (Table 4). The inclusion of 1% SL resulted in an increase of serum total lipids and triglycerides content. Lecithin is a mixture of glycolipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids, and acts as an emulsifier, which increases the fat absorption in the intestines, as shown by Huang et al. (2008)HUANG, J.; YANG, D.; GAO, S.; WANG, T. Effect of soy-lecithin on lipid metabolism and hepatic expression of lipogenic genes in broiler chickens. Livestock Science, v.118, p.53-60, 2008. DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2008.01.014.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2008.01...
, in broilers, and Attia et al. (2009)ATTIA, Y.A.; HUSSEIN, A.S.; TAG EL-DIN, A.E.; QOTA, E.M.; ABED EL-GHANY, A.I.; EL-SUDANY, A.M. Improving productive and reproductive performance of dual-purpose crossbred hens in the tropics by lecithin supplementation. Tropical Animal Health and Production, v.41, p.461-475, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/s11250-008-9209-3.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-008-9209-...
, in hens.

Table 4.
Effect of dietary concentrations of soybean lecithin (SL) on the biochemical constituents of blood plasma of V-Line rabbit does(1).

Soy lecithin decreased the total cholesterol (-7.51%) and the fraction LDL (-26.24%), but increased the fraction HDL (+33.93%). Some researchers showed that a diet containing lecithin modifies the cholesterol homeostasis in the liver, reducing the excess LDL, and promoting the synthesis of a great amount of HDL in the liver (Mourad et al., 2010MOURAD, A.M.; PINCINATO, E. de C.; MAZZOLA, P.G.; SABHA, M.; MORIEL, P. Influence of soy lecithin administration on hypercholesterolemia. Cholesterol, ID824813, 2010. Available at: <Available at: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cholesterol/2010/824813 />. Accessed on: July 5 2016.
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/choleste...
). There is also an inhibition of the acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) by the SL consumption, and lower ACAT activity was associated with lower, free, and esterified cholesterol content, which may be rapidly directed to the elimination in the bile, or may be converted into biliar acids (LeBlanc et al., 2003LEBLANC, M.-J.; BRUNET, S.; BOUCHARD, G.; LAMIREAU, T.; YOUSEF, I.M.; GAVINO, V.; LÉVY, E.; TUCHWEBER, B. Effects of dietary soybean lecithin on plasma lipid transport and hepatic cholesterol metabolism in rats. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, v.14, p.40-48, 2003. DOI: 10.1016/S0955-2863(02)00253-X.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0955-2863(02)00...
). Soy lecithin lowers the serum total cholesterol when fed in hypercholesterolemic diets by laying hens (Attia et al., 2009ATTIA, Y.A.; HUSSEIN, A.S.; TAG EL-DIN, A.E.; QOTA, E.M.; ABED EL-GHANY, A.I.; EL-SUDANY, A.M. Improving productive and reproductive performance of dual-purpose crossbred hens in the tropics by lecithin supplementation. Tropical Animal Health and Production, v.41, p.461-475, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/s11250-008-9209-3.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-008-9209-...
) and rabbits (Attia & Kamel, 2012ATTIA, Y.A.; KAMEL, I.K. Semen quality, testosterone, seminal plasma biochemical and antioxidant profiles of rabbit bucks fed diets supplemented with different concentrations of soybean lecithin. Animal, v.6, p.824-833, 2012. DOI: 10.1017/S1751731111002229.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S175173111100222...
). In addition, dietary PUFAs may also reduce the plasma cholesterol (Ramprasath et al., 2012 RAMPRASATH, V.R.; JONES, P.J.H.; BUCKLEY, D.D.; WOOLLETT, L.A.; HEUBI, J.E. Decreased plasma cholesterol concentrations after PUFA-rich diets are not due to reduced cholesterol absorption/synthesis. Lipids, v.47, p.1063-1071, 2012. DOI: 10.1007/s11745-012-3708-8.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-012-3708-...
).

Similarly, Huang et al. (2008)HUANG, J.; YANG, D.; GAO, S.; WANG, T. Effect of soy-lecithin on lipid metabolism and hepatic expression of lipogenic genes in broiler chickens. Livestock Science, v.118, p.53-60, 2008. DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2008.01.014.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2008.01...
found that dietary SL lowered the total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL, but increased HDL in broilers. Attia et al. (2009)ATTIA, Y.A.; HUSSEIN, A.S.; TAG EL-DIN, A.E.; QOTA, E.M.; ABED EL-GHANY, A.I.; EL-SUDANY, A.M. Improving productive and reproductive performance of dual-purpose crossbred hens in the tropics by lecithin supplementation. Tropical Animal Health and Production, v.41, p.461-475, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/s11250-008-9209-3.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-008-9209-...
also indicated that lecithin supplementation significantly increased the plasma-total lipid, but decreased the plasma cholesterol, while it did not significantly affect the plasma total protein of laying hens. The contradiction among the mentioned results regarding the effects of SL on plasma cholesterol, LDL, and HDL, could be attributed to the animal species, SL levels, and the physiological condition of the animal.

Supplementation with SL also increased the activities of the enzymes in the blood. A higher activity of the acid phosphatase, glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase, as well as glutathione, and glutathione peroxidase, and the total antioxidant capacity were found with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% SL inclusion, respectively. When included at 0.5%, SL resulted in lower activity of the enzymes AST and TBARS values; and ALP and ALT activities were reduced with 1% SL inclusion (Table 5).

Table 5.
Effect of dietary concentrations of soybean lecithin on the enzymes and antioxidant profile of blood plasma of V-Line rabbit does(1).

Since PUFAs are highly unsaturated, and susceptible to autoxidation, SL supplementation increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes and TBARS levels. Low-TBARS levels due to the increasing SL levels may be the result of the higher-activities of the antioxidant enzymes that inhibited the lipid peroxidation. It is known that oxidative stress results in reactive oxygen species formation and in decreased antioxidant reserve (Yoon & Park, 2014YOON, G.-A.; PARK, S. Antioxidant action of soy isoflavones on oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme activities in exercised rats. Nutrition Research and Practice, v.8, p.618-624, 2014. DOI: 10.4162/nrp.2014.8.6.618
https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2014.8.6.618...
). Superoxide dismutase is an important defense enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of hydrogen peroxides and protects the tissues against highly reactive oxygen species, and glutathione, glutathione S-transferase, and glutathione peroxidase also catalyze the reduction of hydrogen peroxides and hydroxiperoxides to nontoxic products (Hosseini-Vashan et al., 2012HOSSEINI-VASHAN, S.J.; GOLIAN, A.; YAGHOBFAR, A.; ZARBAN, A.; AFZALI, N.; ESMAEILINASAB, P. Antioxidant status, immune system, blood metabolites and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens fed turmeric rhizome powder under heat stress. African Journal of Biotechnology, v.11, p.16118-16125, 2012. DOI: 10.5897/AJB12.1986.
https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB12.1986...
). There was a reduction in the activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase. These enzymes are important liver markers, and the results suggest a protective effect of SL on liver cells mainly due to its phosphatidylcholine content (Jung et al., 2013JUNG, Y.Y.; NAM, Y.; PARK, Y.S.; LEE, H.S.; HONG, S.A.; KIM, B.K.; PARK, E.S.; CHUNG, Y.H.; JEONG, J.H. Protective effect of phosphatidylcholine on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute inflammation in multiple organ injury. Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology, v.17, p.209-216, 2013. DOI: 10.4196/kjpp.2013.17.3.209.
https://doi.org/10.4196/kjpp.2013.17.3.2...
).

There was no effect of the treatments on the feed intake of the females. Due to the SL inclusion at 1.0%, there was an improvement on the litter size and kit weight at birth (+15.8 and 11.0%), and for ages at the 14th day (+35.3 and 18.4%), and at the 28th day (+40.5 and 7.4%). Soy lecithin at 1.0% improved the survival rate in all evaluated ages. Milk production was improved in 28.32, 24.5, and 19.7% at birth, and at the 14th and 28th days after birth, respectively, due to 1.0 and 1.5% SL supplementation (Table 6).

Table 6.
Litter size, body weight, and survival rate of the offsprings, and milk production of rabbit does that received levels of soybean lecithin in their diets(1).

Supplementation with SL improved the milk production and litter performance. PUFA content increased up to 154% in diets with 1.5% SL, and digestibility of dietary fats was influenced by the fatty acid profile with a positive relationship between degree of unsaturation of fats and their digestibility (Droke & Lukaski, 2008DROKE, E.A.; LUKASKI, H.C. Dietary fatty acids and minerals. In: CHOW, C.K. (Ed.). Fatty acids in foods and their health implications. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2008. p.635.). In addition, as an emulsifier, SL promotes incorporation of fatty acids in micelles, and increases fat absorption in the gut (Roy et al., 2010 ROY, A.; HALDAR, S.; MONDAL, S.; GHOSH, T.K. Effects of supplemental exogenous emulsifier on performance, nutrient metabolism, and serum lipid profile in broiler chickens. Veterinary Medicine International, v.2010, art.ID262604, 2010. Available at: <Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2910456/pdf/VMI2010-262604.pdf >. Accessed on: Sept. 23 2015.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...
), thereby increasing the energy utilization by the does. Energy deficit may be responsible for the lower size and weight of the litters at the birth. During lactation, the energy output is not compensated by the feed intake, and the fat store needs to be mobilized. If rabbit does can better use the ingested energy, they will have a higher-energy supply for milk production; consequently, this results in higher-survival rate and kit weight. This effect was seen at the 14th and 28th days of the lactation period due to the SL supplementation.

Conclusion

Soy lecithin supplementation at 1% improves the hematological, biochemical, and antioxidant status, along with the increased milk production, and improves offspring growth performance up to weaning

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Sept 2018

History

  • Received
    03 Apr 2017
  • Accepted
    01 Dec 2017
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