The Impact of Prebiotic Supplementation on Growth, Carcass Traits and Meat Quality of Rabbit

Abstract

The growing concern over antimicrobial resistance and the restrictions on antibiotic growth promoters have increased interest in alternative feed additives such as prebiotics. Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) and β-glucans, derived from yeast cell walls, have been reported to enhance gut health, immune function, growth performance, and product quality in livestock. However, their efficacy in rabbits remains inconsistent, warranting further investigation. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of different dietary inclusion levels of a prebiotic based on MOS and β-glucans on growth performance, mortality, and meat quality traits in growing rabbits.A total of 80 weaned rabbits (initial body weight: 679.68 ± 150.86 g) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design, with 20 rabbits per treatment. The experimental diets consisted of a control diet without supplementation and three diets supplemented with 2% (D1), 3% (D2), or 4% (D3) of the MOS and β-glucan prebiotic. Rabbits were reared from 5 to 11 weeks of age with free access to feed and water. Growth performance parameters, including body weight, average daily gain (ADG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality rate, were recorded weekly. Meat color characteristics were evaluated at slaughter.The results showed that dietary supplementation with MOS and β-glucans had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on body weight, ADG, FI, FCR, or mortality throughout the experimental period. Although numerical differences were observed among treatments, these variations were not statistically significant. In contrast, meat color was affected by prebiotic supplementation. Rabbits receiving the 3% prebiotic diet exhibited significantly higher redness (a* = 6.95 ± 0.31) and lower yellowness (b* = 4.68 ± 0.33) than the other groups, indicating improved color stability and potentially greater consumer acceptance. In conclusion, supplementation with a MOS and β-glucan prebiotic at inclusion levels of 2-4% did not enhance growth performance or reduce mortality in growing rabbits under the conditions of this study. However, the improvements observed in meat color traits suggest a positive effect on certain aspect of meat quality. These findings contribute to the understanding of yeast-derived prebiotics in rabbit nutrition and indicate that their benefits may be more evident in product quality than in growth performance, emphasizing the need for further studies to determine optimal inclusion rates and underlying mechanisms.