AUTHOR=Ismail Ismail E. , Abdelnour Sameh A. , Shehata Sabry A. , Abd El-Hack Mohamed E. , El-Edel Mohamed A. , Taha Ayman E. , Schiavitto Michele , Tufarelli Vincenzo 

TITLE=Effect of Dietary Boswellia serrata Resin on Growth Performance, Blood Biochemistry, and Cecal Microbiota of Growing Rabbits

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2019.00471

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2019.00471

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>The present study aimed to examine the impact of dietary supplementation of <italic>Boswellia serrata</italic> (BS) (frankincense) resin on growth and carcass traits, blood hematology, serum metabolites and cecal microbiota of growing rabbits. One hundred New Zealand White (NZW) growing male rabbits (6-weeks old) were divided randomly into five groups using different levels of BS (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 g/kg diet, respectively). When compared to the control diet, daily body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of rabbits fed BS enriched-diets were improved, while feed intake was significantly decreased. A gradual depression (P &lt; 0.01) in serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoproteins (LDL) were observed with increasing BS level the in diet. Total bacteria count, <italic>E. coli</italic> and salmonella populations were lower (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in rabbit groups fed diet enriched with BS than that of the control group. Based on these findings, the dietary supplementation of <italic>Boswellia serrata</italic> enhanced growth, feed efficiency, anti-oxidant status, and minimize cecal pathogenic bacteria in rabbits.</p>