China Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (2): 639-647.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2026.02.012

• Nutrition and Feed • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Dietary Quercetagetin on Reproductive Performance of Female Rabbits and Growth of Offspring

WANG Chenjun1,2(), YU Hongji1,2, ZHAO Jing1,2, WANG Yunzhao1,2, YIN Xintong1,2, WANG Di3, WU Yingjie1,2, LIU Ning1,2(), QIN Yinghe1,2()   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding,College of Animal Science and Technology,China Agricultural University,Beijing 100193,China
    2.National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding,College of Animal Science and Technology,China Agricultural University,Beijing 100193,China
    3.School of Agroforestry and Medicine,The Open University of China,Beijing 100081,China
  • Received:2025-05-26 Online:2026-02-20 Published:2026-01-27
  • Contact: LIU Ning, QIN Yinghe E-mail:13508577090@163.com;dadaliu@cau.edu.cn;qinyinghe@cau.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quercetagetin(QG) supplementation in the diet on the reproductive performance of female rabbits and the growth performance of offspring, as well as to screen optimal dosage and gestational stage of QG supplementation for rabbits. Method In experiment 1, 460 Hyla female rabbits with similar parity(2-3 parity) and body weight were randomly divided into five groups. The rabbits in control group were fed a basal diet, while in the QG100, QG200, QG400, and QG600 groups were respectively fed basal diets supplemented with 100, 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg of QG. The test diets were administered from 6 d before female rabbits mating until 35 d postpartum (weaning of suckling rabbits). In experiment 2, 276 Hyla female rabbits with similar parity and body weight were randomly divided into three groups, including the control group (basal diet), the pre-gestation group (0-12 d of gestation), and the mid-late gestation group (13-30 d of gestation), and female rabbits in pre-gestation group and the mid-late gestation group were fed with diet supplemented with the appropriate additive dosage selected from experiment 1. Conception rate, farrowing rate, litter size, number of live born kits per Litter, stillbirth size, litter weight, and live litter weight, as well as the litter size and litter weight at 7, 14, 21, and 35 d were recorded and analyzed. Result The results of experiment 1 showed that QG supplementation significantly enhanced the average daily feed intake compared with control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, 200 and 400 mg/kg QG supplementation markedly improved litter size, total number of kits born alive, number of live born kits per Litter, total litter weight, litter weight born alive, average litter size at 7 d, 14 d, and 21 d, and litter weight of rabbits at 7 d compared with control group (P<0.05). In addition, 600 mg/kg QG supplementation elevated conception rate and live litter size (P<0.05). The results of experiment 2 showed that QG supplementation during mid-late gestation significantly improved combined litter size, total litter size at birth,total number of kits born alive, and total litter weight, litter weight at 7 d, and average litter weight of rabbits, as well as litter weight at 14 d compared with the control group (P<0.05). Moreover, QG supplementation during pre-gestation significantly enhanced litter weight and average litter weight at 7 d (P<0.05). Conclusion Adding 400 mg/kg QG to the diet significantly improved the reproductive performance of female rabbits and the growth performance of their offspring,and it was better when supplementation occurred during mid-late gestation.

Key words: quercetagetin; female rabbit; reproductive performance; growth performance; gestational stage

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