Effects of Dietary Supplementation with either Zinc Oxide or Nano-Zinc Oxide during Post Maturation on some Physiological and Biochemical Parameters in Mature V-line Male Rabbits

Reda, Rehab Mohamed; El-Anwar, Ahmed Hashem; Mabrook, Eid Abd Elhameed; Ali, Khaled Mohy; Elshemy, Nermeen Atef

doi:10.21608/jvmr.2023.240258.1092

Effects of Dietary Supplementation with either Zinc Oxide or Nano-Zinc Oxide during Post Maturation on some Physiological and Biochemical Parameters in Mature V-line Male Rabbits

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef 62511, Egypt.

10.21608/jvmr.2023.240258.1092

Abstract

The current work aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with either Zinc Oxide (ZnO) or nano-Zinc Oxide (n-ZnO), during post maturation, on some biochemical parameters in mature V-line male rabbits. A total of 30 V-line male rabbits (5 months old) were divided into three equal groups; control group received basal diet, ZnO group received basal diet supplemented with 60mg ZnO/kg and n-ZnO group received basal diet supplemented with 60 mg nano-ZnO/kg for 3 months. At 6th month old, body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), food consumption (FC), food conversion ratio (FCR), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), testosterone, and semen characters as well as serum and seminal plasma levels of Zinc, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were recorded monthly. At the end of 8th month old, androgen receptor (AR) gene expression and microscopical picture of testicular tissue were recorded. Results revealed that ZnO group exhibited significant (P≤0.05) improvement in all studied parameters. Moreover, n-ZnO group showed significant improvement over ZnO group in all studied parameters at the 6th month of age, and in Zinc level throughout the experimental period. However, at the 7th and 8th months of age n-ZnO group, exhibited significant (P≤0.05) adverse effects on all the studied parameters. It could be concluded that ZnO or nano-ZnO improves production and reproduction in mature V-line male rabbits. However, the effect of nano-ZnO was time dependent, since, it induced drastic effects after the 6th month of age.

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