Use of olive leaves (whether or not fortified with sodium selenate) in rabbit feeding: Effect on performance, carcass and meat characteristics, and estimated indexes of fatty acid metabolism

Sixty New Zealand White weaned rabbits were divided into three groups and subjected to different dietary treatments: a standard diet for the control (C), a standard feed supplemented with 10% of plain olive leaves (OL) and a standard feed supplemented with 10% of selenium-fortified olive leaves (100 mg/L of foliar spray sodium selenate solution; SeOL). The productive performance was recorded at the time of slaughter (after 35 days); the carcass and meat traits were determined and estimated indexes of fatty acid metabolism were calculated. No significant differences were found on the rabbit productive performance and the physical-chemical characteristics of the meat. Both group of rabbits on the enriched diet showed leaner and thinner carcasses and a higher meat concentration of oleic acid. The estimated index of Delta 5 + Delta 6-desaturase, starting from n-6 fatty acids, was lower in both groups supplemented with leaves. The use of selenium-fortified olive leaves, positively affected the lipid oxidative stability of rabbit meat.