Effect of Different Dietary Sources of Oils on Growth Performance and Profile of Lipid, Testosterone and Fatty Acids in Rabbit Bucks.

The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with sunflower oil (SFO), flaxseed oil (FSO) or 1% SFO+1% FSO on growth performance, and lipid, testosterone and fatty acid profiles of California rabbit bucks. Number of 24 California bucks having 5.3-5.5 months of age and weighing 2316-2429 g were divided into four groups (n=6). Bucks in the control group were fed free commercial diet, while those in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th groups were fed the same diet with 2% SFO, 2% FSO, or 1% SFO+1% FSO, respectively. Growth parameters were determined during the experiment (16 wk). Serum lipid, testosterone and fatty acid profiles were determined.Results showed insignificant treatment effect on body weight, feed intake and weight gain during the experiment (0-16 wk).The differences in serum triglycerides and total lipids between treatment groups and control were not significant, but triglycerides increased (P<0.05) in FSO- than SFO-bucks. Phospholipids decreased (P<0.05) only by SFO+FSO, while total cholesterol and LDL increased (P<0.05) by SFO or SFO+FSO, but HDL was not affected. All oil types increased (P<0.05) Non-HDL, being higher (P<0.05) in SFO+FSO than in SFO or FSO. Serum Castelli I and II indices,AST and ALT activity, serum total fatty acids and fatty acid profile were not affected by treatment. In conclusion, balancing the ratio between n-6: n-3 fatty acids is important to be the easiest approach to indicate this would be intake of oils rich in n-3 or n-6 fatty acids, such as sunflower and flaxseed oils, respectively.