March 07, 2024

Interpretive Summary: Effects of betaine on growth performance and intestinal health of rabbits fed different digestible energy diets

Interpretive Summary: Effects of betaine on growth performance and intestinal health of rabbits fed different digestible energy diets

By: Zimei Li, Junning Pu, Tingxuan Zeng, Jingyi Cai, Gang Jia, Hua Zhao, Guangmang Liu, Qiufeng Zeng, Yuheng Luo, Gang Tian

Insufficient dietary energy can cause many negative effects on animal production and cause intestinal diseases, which are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in rabbits. Results of some experiments demonstrated that betaine has various physiological functions such as improving energy utilization and intestinal health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of betaine supplementation on growth performance, intestinal function, and health in rabbits fed diets with different levels of digestible energy. The results showed that the addition of betaine to a low-digestible energy diet improved the gut barrier structure and nutrient digestibility in rabbits.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.