The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of grape seed procyanidins(GSP)on reproduc-tive performance of female rabbits and growth performance of offspring under heat stress condition.Experiment 1:to study the effects of GSP supplementation during pregnancy on reproductive performance of female rabbits and growth performance of offspring under heat stress,two hundred and forty-eight primiparous female rabbits generated from Elco multiline cross system with similar body weight and condition were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups with 62 replicates per group and 1 rabbit per replicate.From the start of the trial until the delivery of female rabbits,female rabbits in the four groups were fed experimental diets which supplemented with 0(control group),200,300 and 400 mg/kg GSP based on the basal diet,respectively;from delivery on day 37 of the trial to weaning of offspring at 35 days of age,female rabbits in the four groups were fed the bas-al diet.The pre-experimental period lasted for 7 days,and the experimental period lasted for 72 days.Experi-ment 2:to investigate the effects of GSP supplementation in different stages of pregnancy on reproductive per-formance of female rabbits and growth performance of offspring under heat stress condition,one hundred and twenty-six primiparous female rabbits generated from Elco multiline cross system with similar body weight and condition were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups,they were control group,early gestation group and mid-late pregnancy group,with 42 replicates per group and 1 rabbit per replicate.Female rabbits in the early gestation group and mid-late pregnancy group were fed the experiment which supplemented with 300 mg/kg GSP based on the basal diet at days 1 to 12 of pregnancy and days 13 to 30 of pregnancy,respectively,and fed the basal diet at other time;female rabbits in the control group were fed the basal diet during the whole experi-ment period.The pre-experimental period lasted for 7 days,and the experimental period lasted for 72 days.The results of experiment 1 showed as follows:compared with the control group,the 300 mg/kg GSP supplementa-tion during pregnancy significantly increased the litter size,live litter size and litter weight born alive(P＜0.05),and significantly increased the No.of kits per litter and litter weight at 7 days age,the litter weight at 14 days age,and the No.of kits per litter and litter weight at 21 days age of offspring(P＜0.05);compared with the control group,the 300 mg/kg GSP supplementation during pregnancy significantly increased the activ-ities of superoxide dismutase(SOD)and catalase(CAT)in serum of female rabbits on the 6th day of estrus synchronization(P＜0.05),and significantly reduced the content of malondialdehyde(MDA)in serum(P＜0.05).In addition,at the 15th day of pregnancy,compared with the control group,the 400 mg/kg GSP sup-plementation during pregnancy significantly increased the content of progesterone in serum of female rabbits(P＜0.05),and the 200 mg/kg GSP supplementation during pregnancy significantly reduced the content of MDA in serum(P＜0.05),furthermore,the 300,400 mg/kg GSP supplementation during pregnancy signifi-cantly reduced the content of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in serum(P＜0.05);there were no significant differences in the contents of interleukin-10(IL-10),immunoglobulin G(IgG),immunoglobulin A(IgA)and immunoglobulin M(IgM)in serum among the groups(P＞0.05).The results of experiment 2 showed as follows:compared with the control group,the 300 mg/kg GSP supplementation in the mid-late stage of preg-nancy significantly increased the live litter size,total litter weight,litter weight born alive and average weight of kits born alive(P＜0.05),and significantly increased the No.of kits per litter at 21 days of age and weaning(35 days of age),the litter weight at 14 days of age and weaning(P＜0.05).In summary,under heat stress condition,the supplementation of 300 mg/kg GSP in the diet can significantly improve the reproductive per-formance of female rabbits and the growth performance of offspring.Furthermore,the supplementation of 300 mg/kg GSP in the diet in mid-late stage of pregnancy(days 13 to 30 of pregnancy)showed similarly im-provement effect.[Chinese Journal of Animal Nutrition,2023,35(12):7988-8000]
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