Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:54:08.181Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Royal jelly: can it reduce physiological strain of growing rabbits under Egyptian summer conditions?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2010

S. A. Elnagar*
Affiliation:
Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University (21545), Alexandria, Egypt
O. A. Elghalid
Affiliation:
Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University (21545), Alexandria, Egypt
A. M. Abd-Elhady
Affiliation:
Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University (21545), Alexandria, Egypt
*
Get access

Abstract

Exposure of growing rabbits to heat stress during summer adversely affects their performance leading to major production losses. A total number of 48 rabbits, unsexed V-line weaned rabbits, were randomly divided into four experimental groups, temperature ranged from high at 32°C to low at 23°C. Animals of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th group were individually orally given 200, 400 or 800 mg royal jelly (RJ)/kg BW once a week, respectively, to evaluate RJ ability to reduce physiological strain resulted from heat stress. Weekly BW gain increased by 10.4, 11.8 and 10.8%, and feed conversion ratio was significantly improved by 20, 24 and 18% with RJ treatments. Serum total protein, albumin and globulin increased, whereas serum total lipids, cholesterol and triglycerides decreased with RJ treatments. Creatinine was reduced by 21, 30 and 18% and uric acid by 14, 25 and 18% compared with the heat stressed control with the three doses of RJ. Glucose level increased significantly to reach 116, 125, and 120% of heat stressed control. Calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase increased significantly with RJ treatments indicating the occurrence of active bone deposition. Thyroid hormone levels increased significantly to reach 108, 111, and 112% of heat stressed control rabbits with the three doses of RJ, counteracting the hypothyroid state resulted from heat stress. It can be concluded that RJ administration to heat stressed growing rabbits can reduce physiological strain resulted from heat stress.

Type
Full Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Afifi, EA, Khattab, MM, El-Berry, AA, Abdel-Gawaad, AA 1989. Effect of royal jelly on guinea-pig growth. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Apiculture in Tropical Climates, Cairo, Egypt, 6–10 November 1988. International Bee Research Association, London, UK, pp. 4245.Google Scholar
Al-Mufarrej, SI, El-Sarag, MSA 1997. Effects of royal jelly on the humoral antibody response and blood chemistry of chickens. Journal of Applied Animal Research 12, 4147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrong, WD, Carr, CW 1964. Physiological chemistry laboratory direction, 3rd edition. Burges publishing, Minneololis, Minnesota, USA.Google Scholar
Ayyat, MS, Gad, HAM, El-Aasar, TA, El-Monem, UMA 2004. Alleviation of heat-stressed growing rabbits using some feed additives under Egyptian conditions. Egyptian Journal of Nutrition and Feeds 7, 8396.Google Scholar
Bauer, JD 1982. Clinical laboratory methods, 9th edition, pp. 580581. CV Mosby Co, USA.Google Scholar
Bogin, E, Keller, P 1987. Application of clinical biochemistry to medically relevant animal models and standardization and quality control in animal biochemistry. Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Biochemistry 25, 873878.Google Scholar
Bonomi, A 2003. Royal jelly in light pig feeding. Rivista di Suinicoltura 44, 8792.Google Scholar
Bonomi, A, Bonomi, BM, Quarantelli, A 2001. Royal jelly in the feeding of rabbits. Annali della Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Parma 20, 115132.Google Scholar
Caraway, A 1959. A stable starch substrate for the determination of amylase in serum and other body fluids. American Journal of Clinical Pathology 32, 9799.Google Scholar
Caraway, WT 1963. Standard methods of clinical chemistry (ed. D Seligron), vol. 4, p. 239. Academic Press, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Checke, PR 1987. Rabbit Feeding and Nutrition. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, USA.Google Scholar
Doumas, BT, Watson, WS, Biggs, HG 1977. Albumin standards and the measurement of serum albumin with bromocrol green. Clinica Chimica Acta 31, 8796.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, DB 1955. Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics 11, 142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El-Fiky, SA, Othman, OE, Balabel, EA, Abd-Elbaset, SA 2008. The protective role of royal jelly against mutagenic effect of adriamycin and gamma radiation separately and in combination. Trends in Applied Sciences Research 3, 303318.Google Scholar
Elnagar Samar, A 2000. Hypothyroid mediated changes in reproductive function during heat stress in laying hens at different stages of production. PhD, Alexandria University, Egypt.Google Scholar
Faisal, BA, Abdel-Fattah, SA, El-Hommosany, YM, Abdel-Gawad, NM, Ali, MFM 2008. Immunocompetence, hepatic heat shock protein 70 and physiological responses to feed restricition and heat stress in two body weight lines of Japanese quail. International Journal of Poultry Science 7, 174183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fringes, CS, Fendly, TW, Dunn, RT, Queen, CA 1972. Improved determination of total serum lipids by the sulfo-phosphovanillin reaction. Clinical Chemistry 18, 673674.Google Scholar
Gasic, S, Vucevic, D, Vasilijic, S, Antunovic, M, Chinou, I, Colic, M 2007. Evaluation of the immunomodulatory activities of royal jelly components in vitro. Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology 29, 521536.Google Scholar
Graham, J (ed.) 1992. The Hive and the Honey Bee, Revised edition. Dadant and Sons, Hamilton, Illinois, USA.Google Scholar
Hang, G, Ekusa, A, Iwai, K, Yonekura, M, Takahata, Y, Morimatsu, F 2008. Royal jelly peptides inhibit lipid proxidation in vitro and in vivo. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 54, 191195.Google Scholar
Hidaka, S, Okamoto, Y, Uchiyama, S, Nakatsuma, A, Hashimoto, K, Ohnishi, ST, Yamaguchi, M 2006. Royal Jelly prevents osteoporosis in rats: beneficial effects in ovariectomy model and in bone tissue culture model. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3, 339348.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ikeda, Y, Washizuka, M, Furuichi, H, Fukuda, Y, Kuwabara, Y 1996. Stress and royal jelly. Honeybee Science 17, 103110.Google Scholar
Krylov, VN, Sokolsky, SS, Krylova, EV 2006. Experimental study of bee royal jelly cardioprotictive characteristics. Mellifera 6, 2832.Google Scholar
Kurkure, NV, Kognole, SM, Pawar, SR, Ganorkar, AG, Bhandarkar, AG, Ingle, VC, Kalorey, DR 2000. Effect of Royal jelly as immunomodulator in chicks. Journal of Immunology and Immunopathology 2, 8487.Google Scholar
Majkic-Singh, N, Stojanov, M, Spasic, S, Berkes, I 1981. Spectrophotometric determination of serum uric acid by an enzymatic method with 2,2′-azino-di(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS). Clinica Chimica Acta 116, 117123.Google Scholar
Marai, IFM, Habeb, AAM, Gad, AE 2002. Rabbits’ productive, reproductive and physiological performance traits as affected by heat stress: a review. Livestcok Production Science 78, 7190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marai, IFM, Habeb, AAM, Gad, AE 2005. Tolerance of imported rabbits grown as meat animals to hot climate and saline drinking water in the subtropical environment of Egypt. Animal Science 81, 115123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marai, IFM, Habeb, AAM, Gad, AE 2008. Performance of New Zealand White and Californian male weaned rabbits in the subtropical environment of Egypt. Animal Science Journal 79, 472480.Google Scholar
Maurya, VP, Naqvi, SMK, Joshi, A, Mittal, JP 2007. Effect of high temperature stress on physiological responses of Malpura sheep. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 77, 12441247.Google Scholar
Micini, G, Garbonara, AO, Harmans, H 1965. Immunochemical quantitation of antigen by single radial immunodiffusion. Immunochemistry 2, 235241.Google Scholar
Narita, Y, Ohta, S, Suzuki, KM, Nemoto, T, Abe, K, Mishima, S 2009. Effects of long-term administration of royal jelly on pituitary weight and gene expression in middle-aged female rats. Biotechnology and Biochemistry 73, 431433.Google Scholar
National Research Council (NRC) 1977. Nutrient requirements of rabbits. National Academy of Science, Washington DC, USA.Google Scholar
Provan, D, Singer, CRJ, Baglin, T, Lilleyman, J 2004. Oxford handbook of clinical hematology, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, USA.Google Scholar
QingHua, L, GenLin, W 2007. Effect of heat stress on hemorheology status and plasma inorganic ion concentration and plasma enzyme levels in dairy cows. Journal of Fuijan Agriculture and Forestry University (Natural Science Edition) 36, 284287.Google Scholar
Reitman, S, Frankel, S 1957. A colorimetric method for the determination of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase. American Journal of Clinical Pathology 28, 5663.Google Scholar
SAS Institute 1996. SAS® User’s Guide: Statistics. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Shahbazkia, HR, Aminlari, M, Mohamadnia, AR 2009. Determination of alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes and isoforms in dog serum by a simple anion exchange chromatographic method. Comparative Clinical Pathology 18, 427432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tietz, NW (ed.) 1986. Fundamentals of clinical chemistry, p. 723. WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia, USA.Google Scholar
Trinder, P 1969. Determination of glucose in blood using glucose oxydase with an alternative oxygen acceptor. Annals of Clinical Biochemistry 6, 24.Google Scholar
Villalobos, O, Guillén, O, García, J 2008. Effect of cage density on growth and carcass performance of fattening rabbits under tropical heat stress conditions. World Rabbit Science 16, 8997.Google Scholar
Vittek, J 1995. Effect of royal jelly on serum lipids in experimental animals and humans with atherosclerosis. Experientia 51, 927935.Google Scholar
XinNan, S, RuiFang, L, GengSheng, H 1995. Effects of lyophilized royal jelly on experimental hyperlipaemia and thrombosis. Zhonghua Yufang Yixue Zazhi 29, 2729.Google Scholar
Yamada, K, Ikeda, I, Maeda, M, Shirahata, S, Murakami, H 1990. Effect of immunoglobulin production stimulating factors in foodstuffs on immunoglobulin production of human lymphocytes. Agricultural and Biological Chemistry 54, 10871089.Google ScholarPubMed
Yokoyama, H 2007. Gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (gammaGTP) in the era of metabolic syndrome. Nihon Arukoru Yakubutsu Igakkai Zasshi 42, 110124.Google ScholarPubMed