Potential use of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) stover treated with white-rot fungi as rabbit feed

Effect of a Diet Based on Biotransformed Sorghum on Rabbit Intestinal Morphology and Fecal Fiber Composition

Some of the goals of meat production systems are to improve feed efficiency, reduce costs, provide proper nutrition and avoid metabolic disorders. Hence, the aim of this work was to compare a rabbit diet based on untreated sorghum (T1) with a second one that included the cereal biotransformed by the co-cultivation of two basidiomycetes (T2). Their effects on the cereal, diets, and fecal structural fiber composition, as well as on rabbit intestinal morphology, were evaluated. A completely randomized design was applied, employing 24 New Zealand rabbits (21 days old). The fiber chemical composition results indicated that the sorghum treated with the co-culture had lower amounts of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose, as did rabbits fed the T2 diet. Decreases in the NDF, ADF and cellulose contents were detected in T2-nourished rabbit excrements at day 21 (p ≤ 0.05), while lignin percentages diminished at days 35 and 49 (p ≤ 0.05). These rabbits also showed longer jejunal and cecal villi (p ≤ 0.05). The results obtained suggest a positive effect on the bioavailability of structural fibers after sorghum fungal co-fermentation, as their content decreased in rabbit fecal matter without damaging the intestinal morphology.