Effects of complex plant essential oil on growth,immunity,and antioxidant function of meat rabbits

SUN Changhua; ZHAO Juanjuan; YAO Zeling

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.11.012

Abstract：This experiment aims to investigate the effects of different levels of complex plant essential oil on the growth performance,immune function,and antioxidant function in meat rabbits.A total of 400 weaned Ira meat rabbits were randomly divided into four groups with five replicates per group and 20 rabbits per replicate.The control group was fed a basal diet,while the 100 mg/kg group,200 mg/kg group,and 400 mg/kg group received basal diets supplemented with 100,200,and 400 mg/kg complex plant essential oil,respectively.The pre-trial was one week,the formal trial was four weeks.The results showed that compared with the control group,the 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg groups exhibited a significantly higher average daily gain(P＜0.05),with increases of 22.37％and 17.89％,respectively,the 200 mg/kg group demonstrated a significantly reduced feed-to-gain ratio(P＜0.05),decreasing by 15.94％.The 100 mg/kg,200 mg/kg,and 400 mg/kg groups showed extreme reductions in diarrhea rate(P＜0.01),decreasing by 53.72％,78.04％,and 88.18％,respectively.The 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg groups had significantly increased spleen index(P＜0.05),elevated interleukin-4(IL-4)level(P＜0.05),extremely decreased interleukin-6(IL-6)level(P＜0.01),and reduced tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)level(P＜0.05).The 200 mg/kg group showed significant increases in interferon-γ(IFN-γ)and immunoglobulin G(IgG)levels(P＜0.05).The 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg groups displayed extremely enhanced glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)activity(P＜0.01)and significantly reduced malondialdehyde(MDA)level(P＜0.05).The study indicates that complex plant essential oil can improve growth performance,reduce diarrhea rate,promote immune organ development,enhance immunoglobulin levels,anti-inflammatory cytokine levels,and antioxidant capacity,while decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in meat rabbits.The dietary supplementation with 200 mg/kg complex plant essential oil demonstrates the optimal breeding effect.