Impact Of Forms Of Selenium And Supplemental Vitamin E On Rabbits' Growth, Slaughter Performance And Muscle Quality

Nutrition is vital for raising healthy animals and ensuring higher quality production. To achieve these goals, an appropriate dose and form of antioxidants should be chosen when modulating the animal diet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of selenium forms and supplemental vitamin E on rabbits' growth and slaughter performance as well as muscle quality traits. Forty-five weaned Californian rabbits (42-d-old) were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments: standard compound diet (SCD), standard compound diet + 0.5 mg kg(-1) organic Se + 100 mg kg(-1) vitamin E (OSe+VE), standard compound diet + 0.5 mg kg(-1) inorganic Se + 100 mg kg(-1) vitamin E (ISe+VE). At the end of the feeding trial, 21 rabbit were randomly selected and euthanized. Slaughter performance was evaluated. Longissimus dorsi and hind leg muscle samples were collected post-mortem and further used to determine physicochemical composition, cholesterol, MDA levels in fresh and stored samples, selenium and vitamin E accumulation, and the profile of fatty acids. OSe+VE and ISe+VE treatments did not affect rabbits' initial and final body weights or slaughter performance (P >= 0.05). However, after evaluating muscle quality traits, our study results showed that OSe+VE and ISe+VE treatments can increase protein levels in the hind leg, while ISe+VE can reduce Longissimus dorsi b* value (P <= 0.05). Experimental treatments improved selenium and vitamin E accumulation in Longissimus dorsi and hind leg muscles (P <= 0.05) and increased PUFA (P <= 0.05). The OSe+VE treatment reduced AI, TI indexes, but increased the h/H ratio (P <= 0.05). In conclusion, both Se forms and supplemental vitamin E can be used for growing rabbits without causing any adverse effects on the growth. However, according to rabbits' muscle quality results, the OSe+VE treatment has better impact, leading to higher muscles quality than achieved when SCD and ISe+VE were given.