240 
 

Journal homepage: www.fia.usv.ro/fiajournal 
Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering,  

Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania  
Volume XV, Issue 3- 2016, pag. 240  -  248 

 

TRADITIONAL LEAFY VEGETABLES COMBINATIONS ENHANCE GROWTH 
PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVE HEALTH STATUS OF NEW ZEALAND WHITE 

x CALIFORNIAN RABBITS 

Franck K.YAO1, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU1, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN1, Sébastien NIAMKE1  
 

1Laboratoire de Biotechnologies, UFR Biosciences, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, 
22 BP 582, Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire. 

 tchoumou2@yahoo.fr  
Corresponding author 

Received August 25th 2016, accepted September 28th 2016 

 
Abstract: Fifty five rabbits (35 days old; average initial body weight: 550g) were used to assess their 
growth performance and health status when they were fed with leafy vegetables combinations (Vigna 
unguiculata, Abelmoschus esculentus, Ipomoea batatas, Solanum melongena, Corchorus olitorius). 
Ten treatments composed of 50% (dry matter) of three leafy vegetables combination and 50% of pellet 
were given to rabbits until 98 days of age. The control treatment contained only commercial pellets 
(100%).  
The results showed that the daily weight gain and the body weight gain did not differ between 
treatments. However, the final weights (1866.94-2200 g) were significantly different 
(p<0.05).Average daily feed intake (61.55 g/day) and feed conversion ratio (2.69) of the control 
group were different (P< 0.05) to those obtained with the other diets. However, the daily feed intake 
(162.10-188.97g/day) and the feed conversion ratio (6.91-8.21) of rabbit fed with leafy vegetables 
combination were similar (P< 0.05). Apparent coefficient of dry matter digestibility (70.52-86.21%) 
and of protein digestibility (86.28-91.30%) differed between treatments (P< 0.05). The digestibility of 
diets supplemented by mixture of Corchorus olitorius, Vigna unguiculata and Abelmoschus esculentus, 
was better compared to other treatments. The blood parameters tested did not differ between 
treatments (P>0.05), except for Low Density Lipoprotein which was high for diet F group and low for 
diet I group.  
This work revealed thatthe use of leafy vegetables combination facilitated the digestibility of diets 
contributing therefore to the improvement of growth performance and rabbits’ health status. 
 
Keywords: Leafy vegetables, growth, blood chemistry, haematological analysis, rabbit  
 
1. Introduction 
 
Rabbit is one of the most prolific breeders 
among the livestock species [1]. Rabbit 
meat is as nutritious as chicken and can 
serve as an excellent source of low 
cholesterol meat that is generally 
recommended to consumers [2]. In spite of 
having less space requirement, high 
production and reproduction potential of 
rabbit, its rearing has not got much 
tremendous popularity among the Ivorian 
people. This situation can be due to fact 
that the rabbit meat is considered as food 
of rich persons in Côte d’Ivoire. Moreover 

the high feeding cost has favored this 
situation as in most African countries [3]. 
The current trend in the breeding area is 
the utilization of vegetal raw for feeding 
the animals. Products animal are more 
expensive and unavailable while the 
vegetal products are low expensive and 
available. Among the vegetal raw product, 
the non-conventional feed as green forages 
are essential to reduce the feeding cost for 
economy production. One of the 
advantages of rabbit production in tropical 
countries is that rabbits are herbivorous 
animals and can be fed with forages and 
agricultural by-products that are not 

http://www.fia.usv.ro/fiajournal
mailto:tchoumou2@yahoo.fr


Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

241 

suitable for human consumption. Besides, 
most studies showed that the using of 
green forages in the rabbit feeding 
facilitate the digestive transit enhancing 
the appetite of rabbits to obtain optimum 
growth and good health [4-5]. The leafy 
vegetables as Vigna unguiculata, 
Abelmoschus esculentus, Ipomoea batatas, 
Solanum melongena and Corchorus 
olitorius are available in abundance and 
under consumed by Ivorian people [6-7]. 
They have good nutritive characteristics 
[8-9-10]. The leaves of these plants were 
efficiently used by the rabbits for best 
growth performances when they were 
associated with 50 % of pelleted diet as 
showed by [5]. Indeed, the combination of 
two leaves allowed the assimilation of 
nutrients for the growth, which could have 
a beneficial effect on the quality of rabbit 
meat. Nevertheless, the studies on 
concentrate diet supplemented with the 
combination of leafy vegetables are very 
scantly. Therefore, the present experiment 
was conducted in order to investigate the 
effect of various combinations of three 
forages chosen between Vigna 
unguiculata, Abelmoschus esculentus, 
Ipomoea batatas, Solanum melongena, 
Corchorus olitorius supplemented with 
concentrate diet on growth performances 
and health status of weaned rabbits.  

 
2. Materials and methods 
 

Experimental Animal and Management 
 
The study has been conducted in a 
traditional rabbit farm in Bingerville 
municipality (Côte d’Ivoire). The study 
area is located between 5° 21'708 "North 
latitude and 3° 54'639" longitude west.  
The animal (550 ±34g) were cross bred 
New Zealand × California rabbits [11], 

which weaned at 35 days of age and were 
housed individually in cage in wire-netting 
(70 × 40 × 50 cm) raised from 80 cm to 
ground. The cages were arranged in stripes 
and under the shade of large trees (natural 
ventilation and daylight). The average 
temperature recorded during the 
experimental period was 29±2°C. Water 
was provided ad libitum. The drinking and 
feeding bowl were made of removable 
metal cans stainless tied with binding wire 
to inner side of the cage. 
 
Feeding of Experimental Animals  

 
Five traditional leafy vegetables of Côte 
d’Ivoire as Vigna unguiculata, 
Abelmoschus esculentus, Ipomoea batatas, 
Solanum melongena and Corchorus 
olitorius were used (Table1). These 
forages distributed to animals were 
purchased daily from the market at 7am 
and disinfected 24 h before distribution. 
The forage was immersed in 10 L of water 
containing 2 ml of bleach Lacroix®. It was 
then allowed to dehydrate at room 
temperature for 24 h [12]. A concentrate 
diet from Ivograin® (Industrial Zone-
Yopougon-01 BP 1664 Abidjan 01-Ivory 
Coast was purchased. Website: 
www.sipra.ci) covering the nutritional 
needs of the growing rabbit was used as 
control diet (Table 1). 
After weaning at 35 days, fifty five rabbits 
(550 ± 34 g) were housed individually in 
cages. The animals were acclimated to the 
experimental conditions during seven days 
[13]. The control diet was composed solely 
of concentrate, the other diets were 
composed of 50% forage (composed of 
three leaves) and 50% concentrate diet 
(control diet) (Table 2).

 
 

 

http://www.sipra.ci/


Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

242 

Table 1 
 Approximate composition of leafy vegetables and concentrate diet (control diet) 

 
Parameters (%) Solanum 

melongena 
Abelmoschus 

esculentus 
Vigna 

unguiculata 
Corchorus 
olitorius 

Ipomoea 
batatas 

Control 
diet 

Dry matter 26.73 23.38 24.23 26.09 24.21 79.85 

Crude protein 14.04 12.31 17.20 16.84 15.32 14.75 

Ether extract 5.29 4.82 5.00 4.64 5.46 3.70 

Crude fiber 13.41 14.29 15.46 12.62 17.35 12.56 

Ash 11.40 9.18 9.38 9.56 11.22 9.6 

Source: [8-9-10] for leafy vegetables [11] for control diet. 
 

Each diet has been distributed to 
five rabbits housed individually.During 
this period the animals also received 
prophylactic treatment with antibiotics to 
prevent coccidiosis. Then Cocciliumforte® 
(Amprolium hydrochloride 20% and 0.2% 
vitamin K3) was used in the drinking water 

at a dose of 1g/L for three days [14]. After 
the acclimatized period, the rabbits were 
fed to satiety with different diets twice 
daily (9 am and 17 pm) until the age of 98 
days [15]. Water was provided ad libitum 
and renewed each morning.  

Table 2  

Experiment treatments 

Treatments 
Leafy vegetables and pelleted diet (%) 

Solanum 
melongena 

Corchorus 
olitorius 

Vigna 
unguiculata 

Ipomoea 
batatas 

Abelmoschus 
esculentus 

Control 
diet 

A 16.66  16.66  16.66 50 
B  16.66  16.66 16.66 50 
C 16.66 16.66 16.66   50 
D 16.66 16.66  16.66  50 
E   16.66 16.66 16.66 50 
F 16.66 16.66   16.66 50 
G  16.66 16.66 16.66  50 
H 16.66  16.66 16.66  50 
I  16.66 16.66  16.66 50 
J 16.66   16.66 16.66 50 

Control      100 

Growth performances 

Weekly live weights (g) of the rabbits were 
determined by weighing the animals 
individually using an electronic scale 
(OHAUS Adventurer Pro Av 3102.). This 
was done early in the morning prior to 
feeding. Daily feed intake (DFI) was 
determined by weighing the left over feed 
from the quantity of feed filled the 
previous day.  

 
Data on daily feed intake (DFI)), feed 
conversion ratio (FCR) and daily weight 
gain (DWG) were also computed.  
Daily Feed intake (FI) was taken as the 
difference between the feed supplied and 
left over for each replicate per day. The 
rabbits were weighed on weekly basis and 
weight gain for each animal per week was 
calculated as the difference between the 
present weight and the weight for the 
previous week. The daily weight gain 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

243 

(DWG) was obtained by dividing the total 
weight gain by the number of days. Feed 
conversion ratio (FCR) was determined by 
dividing the quantity of feed consumed by 
the weight gained.  
 
Digestibility determination 
 
The hard faeces from each cage were 
collected every morning before food 
distribution from 56th to 60th day of age 
[13]. Faeces were weighed then packaged 
in labeled plastic bags and stored at -20 ° C 
prior laboratory analysis. For digestibility 
tests, all of the excreta (faeces) of each 
batch was first defrosted and then dried in 
an oven for 24 h at 80° C. Half of each 
batch of faeces parboiled (80° C) was dried 
for 24 h at 103° C to determine the dry 
matter content [13]. The determination of 
the dry matter content was based on the 
[16] AOAC (1990) method. The total 
protein was carried out on the sample 
stored at 80° C [13]. 
 
Blood parameters  
 
At 88th day of age, blood samples were 
collected from three (3) rabbits per batch 
selected randomly. Two samples of three 
(3) mL of blood from each rabbit fasted 10 
hours were taken in sterile flasks (4 mL 
Vacutainer tubes; BD-Plymouth®) early 
morning (6:00), from the central artery of 

the ear with a sterile disposable syringe of 
5 mL [17]. 
Blood samples for hematological analysis 
were collected in flasks containing 
ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) 
and were delivered to the laboratory within 
2 h of collection and promptly assayed. 
Hematological analysis was based on 
MINDRAY® BC-3200 technology [18]. 
The samples for biochemical analysis were 
centrifuged (500 rpm, 3 mm) and separated 
also within 2 h of collection. The resulting 
blood serum was stored at 4°C until 
assayed. Biochemical parameters were 
determined by using a spectrophotometer 
(BIOLYZER® 100) at a wavelength of 500 
nm. 
 
Data analysis 
 
Data were subjected to analysis of variance 
(ANOVA) using SPSS17 software. 
Treatment means were compared by one-
way analysis of variance followed by 
Duncan’s test. 
 
3. Results and discussion 
 
Growth performances 
 
Figure 1 shows the live weight of the 
rabbits fed with different treatments after 9 
weeks of feeding.  

 

 
Figure 1: Variation of rabbit weight during 9 weeks feeding 

ab ab
bcd bcd bcd bcd a

cd d bcd abc

0
500

1000
1500
2000
2500

Fi
na

l l
iv

e 
w

ei
gh

t (
g)

Diets



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

244 

The live weight of rabbits was significantly 
different (P>0.05). The rabbits fed with 
combination of Corchorus olitorius, Vigna 
unguiculata and Abelmoschus esculentus 
(diet I) had slightly higher live weight than 
other treatments. While the rabbits fed 
with Corchorus olitorius, Vigna 
unguiculata and Ipomea batatas, recorded 
low growth with no difference compared to 
those of rabbit fed with diets A, B and 
control diet (P<0.05). These results could 
be attributed to high protein content of 
Vigna unguiculata (17.20%) and 
Corchorus olitorius (16.84%) compared to 
others leafy vegetables (12-14%). 
Table 3 presented the different responses 
of daily weight gain, daily feed intake and 
feed conversion ratio of the rabbits fed 
with different treatments. The daily weight 
gain ranged from 24.42 to 29.60 g/day and 
didn’t show differences (P ˂ 0.05) between 

treatments. These values were similar to 
the findings of [5] who fed rabbits with 
concentrate supplemented with 
combination of two green forages. 
However; the values of daily weight gain 
recorded in this sturdy were higher than 
those reported on forage-concentrate diets 
under most tropical conditions ranging 
between 5-20 g/day [19]. The feed intake 
(162.10-188.97g/day) and the feed 
conversion ratio (6.91-8.21) of rabbit fed 

with forage were similar (P< 0.05) but 
were significantly different to the control 
group (61.55 g/day and 2.69 respectively). 
This fact would suggested that the forage 
added in the rabbit’s feed would increased 

their appetite but also the feed intake to 
satisfy their feed requirements as reported 
by [4]. The increased feed intake of the 
rabbits for diets containing forage is 
understandable since forage contains high 
fiber, which tended to increase the total 
fiber content of the diet and diluted other 
nutrients. The present results showed that 
adding of forage in rabbit rations 
significantly (p<0.05) increased feed 
conversion ratio in comparison with 
control. High feed conversion ratio (6.91-
8.21) of different rabbit batches fed with a 
combination of leaves and pelleted diet 
was the direct consequence of this high 
feed intake. Furthermore, it should be 
noted that the diets with leafy vegetables 
had higher apparent coefficient of 
digestibility of dry matter compared to 
control diet. Values reported about feed 
digestibility are in good agreement with 
those reported by [5]. 
The number of dead rabbit ranged from 1 
to 2 rabbits (Table 3). This could be 
attributed to the supplementation effect of 
leafy vegetables following the adaptation 
period.

Table 3 

 Effect of forages feeding on weaned rabbit’s performance 

Parame-
ters (%) 

Diets 

A B C D E F G H I J Con-trol 
DWG 
(g/day) 

25.46±
7.15a 

24.42±
1.79a 

28.3±
2.97 a 

28.88± 
4.76a 

25.16±
2.21a 

25.66±
7.44a 

25.61± 
2.40a 

28.45±
2.72a 

29.60± 
5.09a 

25.11±
5.56a 

26.52±
0.62a 

DFI 
(g/day) 

173.60
±29.49
b 

162.10
±26.45
b 

173.8
5±30.
0b 

188.97± 
43.47b 

172.32
±28.80
b 

168.59
±30.50
b 

173.46± 
30.89 b 

172.83
±31.43 
b 

172.00± 
32.59 b 

174.21
±32.83 
b 

61.55± 
17.31a 

FCR 7.97± 0.49 b 
7.91± 
0.75 b 

7.02±
0.51 b 

7.71± 
0.22b 

7.52± 
0.64 b 

7.52± 
0.55 b 

8.21± 
0.46 b 

7.48± 
0.83 b 

6.91± 
0.37 b 

7.44± 
0.70 b 

2.69± 
0.38a 

Dead 
rabbit 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 

DFI: Daily feed intake, FCR: feed conversion ratio. Values are expressed as a mean value ± standard deviation (n = 5). 
Means in the same row having different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.05), while values in the same row with 
same superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05). 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

245 

Dry matter and protein digestibility 
 
Dry matter and protein digestibility ranged 
from 70.52 to 86.21 % and 86.28 to 91.30 
% respectively (Figure 2). These 
parameters were significantly different (P< 
0.05). The dry matter digestibility of 
rabbits fed with diets contained 
combination of leafy vegetables was 

higher than those obtained in rabbits fed 
with the control diet. Protein digestibility 
of rabbits fed with different diets tests do 
not differ except diet G (lowest ACDP) and 
I (highest ACDP) (p > 0.05) (Table 5). 
These results indicated that the forage as 
leafy vegetables had a positive effect on 
the nutrients digestibility but facilitated 
their assimilation. 

 

 
ACDDM: Apparent Coefficient of Dry Matter Digestibility, ACDP: Apparent Coefficient of Protein Digestibility. Values are 
expressed as a mean value ± standard deviation (n = 5). Means in the same row having different superscripts are significantly 
different (P < 0.05), while values in the same row with same superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05). 

Figure 2. Apparent coefficient of digestibility of grower rabbits fed concentrate and mixture of leafy 
vegetables combinations. 

 
Blood parameters 
 
Blood biochemical parameters were 
presented in table 4. Urea (0.27 - 0.32 g/L), 
creatinine t (10.15 - 12.47 g/L), glycaemia 
(0.74-0.82g/L) triglycerides (0.56-1.16 
g/L) and HDL (0.49-0.57 g/L) contents did 
not differ between treatments (P > 0.05). 
The cholesterol total and LDL contents 
were high for rabbits fed with diet F and 
low for diet I respectively (P > 0.05). 
These results were in agreement with those 
observed by [5]. Blood is a good indicator 
to determine the health of an organism. 
The values recorded in the present study 
were similar to the values reported by [20]. 
The identical creatinine values indicated 
the normal muscle metabolism as reported 
by [21]. It also suggested that there was no 
wasting or catabolism of muscle tissues as  
 

 
 
observed by [22]. The similarity of urea 
values is in agreement with the findings of 
[23] for rabbits fed with concentrate diet 
supplemented with Leucaena leucocephala 
or Macroptilium atropurpureum leaves. 
The urea values in this study indicated the 
good liver health. Cholesterol is of animal 
origin and should come from some animal 
products used for pellets formulation. 
Some leafy vegetables combinations 
especially diet I (mixture of Corchorus 
olitorius, Vigna unguiculata and 
Abelmoschus esculentus) could contribute 
to reduce total cholesterol value in blood 
compared with the control group. 
Blood also acted as pathological reflector 
of the whole body; hence haematological 
parameters are important in diagnosing the 
functional status of exposed animal to 
toxicants. 

 
 

b b bc bc b b b bc bc b
a

ab ab ab ab ab ab a ab b ab ab

0
20
40
60
80

100

A
C

D
 (

%
)

DIETS

ACDDM

ACDP



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

246 

Table 4. 
 Blood biochemical parameters of rabbit groups fed with different diets. 

Diets 
Parame- 
ters A B C D E F G H I J 

Control 

Urea 
(g/L)  

0.30 
±0.01 a 

0.25 
±0.05 a 

0.28 
±0.07 a 

0.27 
±0.04 a 

0.27 
±0.01 a 

0.25 
±0.04 a 

0.27 
±0.01 a 

0.32 
±0.01 a 

0.26 
±0.05 a 

0.25 
±0.04a 

0.27 
±0.04 a 

Glycae-
mia 
(g/L)  

0.82 
±0.02 a 

0.77 
±0.06 a 

0.77 
±0.03 a 

0.74 
±0.05 a 

0.74 
±0.04 a 

0.79 
±0.01 a 

0.74 
±0.01 a 

0.79 
±0.01 a 

0.77 
±0.01 a 

0.77 
±0.11 a 

0.75 
±0.06 a 

Creati-
nine 
(mg/L)  

12.11 
±0.59a 

10.19 
±1.12 a 

11.50 
±2.30 a 

11.58 
±2.06 a 

12.47 
±0.54 a 

10.60 
±1.06 a 

10.74 
±0.31 a 

12.83 
±0.25 a 

10.37 
±2.49 a 

10.15 
±1.39 a 

10.94 
±1.68a 

Total 
choleste-
rol (g/L)  

1.70± 
0.26 ab 

1.89± 
0.07 ab 

1.76± 
0.06 ab 

1.66± 
0.10 ab 

1.56± 
0.00 ab 

1.80± 
0.37 b 

1.48± 
0.18 ab 

1.74± 
0.16 ab 

1.63± 
0.06 a 

1.73± 
0.08 ab 

1.67± 
0.05 ab 

HDL 
(g/L)  

0.55± 
0.04 a 

0.51± 
0.11 a 

0.57± 
0.06 a 

0.51± 
0.07 a 

0.49± 
0.01 a 

0.52± 
0.11 a 

0.57± 
0.02 a 

0.53± 
0.11 a 

0.56± 
0.08 a 

0.54± 
0.02 a 

0.53± 
0.05 a 

LDL 
(g/L)  

0.97± 
0.16 ab 

0.88± 
0.11 ab 

0.98± 
0.12 ab 

1.07± 
0.36 ab 

1.04± 
0.21 ab 

1.15± 
0.06 b 

1.06± 
0.06 ab 

0.96± 
0.00 ab 

0.75± 
0.10 a 

1.04± 
0.17 ab 

0.92± 
0.03 ab 

Trigly-
cerides 
(g/L)  

0.88± 
0.31 a 

1.16± 
0.11 a 

0.74± 
0.25 a 

0.86± 
0.27 a 

0.56± 
0.04 a 

1.05± 
0.52 a 

0.79± 
0.48 a 

0.85± 
0.28 a 

0.95± 
0.42 a 

0.68± 
0.04 a 

1.11± 
0.13 a 

DL: High Density Lipoprotein; LDL: Low Density Lipoprotein. Values are expressed as a mean value ± standard deviation (n = 5). Means in the same row 
having different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.05), while values in the same row with same superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05). 

 
Hematological values were found to be 
significantly similar (P>0.05) in all 
parameters measured except MCHC which 

was high in diet A and low in diet B 
(P<0.05) (Table 5). 

 
Table 5: Hematological values in rabbit’s blood 

Diets 
Parameters A B C D E F G H I J Control 
Erythro-
cytes 
(106/mm3) 

5.91± 
0.30a 

5.62± 
0.26a 

6.34± 
0.09a 

5.35± 
0.61a 

5.68± 
0.34a 

6.32± 
0.03a 

6.23± 
0.76a 

5.46± 
0.35a 

6.19± 
0.49a 

5.62± 
0.62a 

5.71± 
0.01a 

Leuko-
cytes 
(103/mm3) 

4.8± 
0.85a 

3.65± 
0.64a 

4.8± 
1.27a 

3.9± 
2.69a 

4.3± 
1.56a 

7± 
2.55a 

4.15± 
0.21a 

6.5± 
1.56a 

5.8± 
0.57a 

4± 
1.41a 

5.5± 
0.85a 

Hemoglo-
bin  (g/dl) 

12.7±0.
28a 

12.45±
0.07a 

13.95±
0.07a 

12.25±
1.06a 

12.55±
0.21a 

13.25±
0.35a 

13.2± 
0.85a 

12.15±
0.21a 

13.15±
1.34a 

12.2±1.
41a 

12.25±
0.21a 

MCV 
(µm3) 

67.55±
6.01a 

73.8± 
3.39a 

70.8± 
2.83a 

72.3± 
0.99a 

72.95±
4.60a 

67± 
0.14a 

69± 
2.40a 

71.2± 
2.62a 

68.6± 
0.14a 

69.75±
0.07a 

71.15±
1.77a 

MCHC 
(%) 

31.85±
0.49b 

30± 
0.14a 

31.05±
0.64ab 

31.45±
0.92ab 

30.35±
0.64ab 

31± 
0.71ab 

30.8± 
0.71ab 

31.2± 
0.28ab 

30.95±
0.64ab 

31.1±0.
14 ab 

30.25±
1.20 ab 

MCH (pg) 22.05±0.78a 
22.1± 
0.85a 

21.9± 
0.42a 

22.25±
0.21a 

22.05±
0.92a 

20.8± 
0.42a 

21.2± 
1.27a 

22.2± 
0.99a 

21.15±
0.49a 

21.65±
0.07a 

21.4± 
0.42a 

Platelets 
(103/ mm3) 

348.5±
41.72a 

324.5±
106.77a 

393± 
38.18a 

221.5±
217.08a 

356± 
151.32a 

414± 
21.21a 

365.5±
48.79a 

329± 
142.84a 

392.5±
102.53a 

309± 
94.75a 

354± 
101.82a 

MCV: mean corpuscular volume; MCHC: mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration; MCH: mean corpuscular haemoglobin. Values are expressed as a mean 
value ± standard deviation (n = 5). Means in the same row having different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.05 ), while values in the same row with 
same superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05). 

 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

247 

This slight disparity in MCHC results 
could probably be the result of the well-
known variability of haematological 
indicators in rabbits with regard to breed-
related and individual differences [18]. 
MCV, MCH HB, MCHC and platelets 
were reported to be normal [24]. These 
results indicated that the blood values of 
rabbits were not negatively affected by the 
ingestion of Vigna unguiculata, 
Abelmoschus esculentus, Ipomoea batatas, 
Solanum melongena and Corchorus 
olitorius. These results suggested that the 
erytrogenesis was not altered. It indicated 
efficient oxygen transport and normal 
haematopoiesis [25]. The results were in 
agreement with findings of [26] and [27].  

4. Conclusion  
 
This study showed that rabbits’ optimal 
growth performance can be achieved when 
they are fed with concentrated 
supplemented three leaf-vegetables. The 
forages combination did not have 
deleterious effects on blood biochemical 
and haematological parameters. The 
combination of Abelmoschus esculentus, 
Vigna unguiculata and Corchorus olitorius 
leafy vegetables could be recommended as 
forage which could better support rabbit 
production. Although, it could reduce the 
feeding cost, it may need further study on 
the quality of rabbit meat.  

 
 
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Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XV, Issue 3  – 2016 

Franck K.YAO, Athanase K. OTCHOUMOU, Raïssa M.F.L. WOGNIN, Sébastien NIAMKE, Effect of traditional leafy vegetables 
mixture on growth performances and blood parameters of New Zealand white x Californian rabbits, Food and Environment Safety, Volume 
XV, Issue 3 – 2016, pag. 240 – 248 
 
 

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	1. Introduction
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