Curcuma Longa and dietary plant oils for growing rabbits: Effect on apparent digestibility.

Abstract Tlris srudy was set up to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of Cut'cunu longa (CL,3 g kg -') in rabbit diets on the apparent digestibility of mixed feeds with 40 g kg ' pahn oil (PO) and 40 g kg 'r corn oil (CO). Fort1, *.eaned nine week old crossbred labbits wele randornly assigned to four gloups of l0 anirnals. Thc ar-rimals r,verc housed individually nnder slandard conditions. Foul isoproteic and isoenergetic diets were formulated with CO, CO+CL, PO, and PO+CL. Aftcr I wcck for aclaptatior.r to thc dicts and cages, tlre animals werc fed ad libitum for 24 days. The apparent digestibilitics ofthe four diets werc detennined in the last weck. The faeces were collected over a pcriod offive days nsing a nylon nct placed under the cages ofeach trial. to avoid ttrine contamination. Tl-re dietary and faecal samples were analysed to determine dry n-ratter, cnrde protein, ash, ether extract, neutral detergcnt fible, acid dctergent fibre, gross energv and acid insoluble ash (AIA). Thc digestibility coefficients were calcnlated according to thc indirect digestibiiity method using AIA as atr itrert marker. The analysis of variar"lcc was used to evaluate the effects on the digestibility of the four different rabbit diets. The means were comparcd with a Duncan test iind the significance leve I was set at P<0.01 . CL can be used satisfactorily in rabbit mixed feeds with a CO supplementation and it lesr"rlted ir.r a bcttcl digestibility of DM, OM and CE than tl.re control diet. In rabbit rnixed feeds with a PO supplernentation. CL decreascd thc ADF digestibility and increased the EE dígestibility.