Influence of Dried Tomato Pomace as a Source of Polyphenols on the Performance of Growing Rabbit

This study was carried out to determine the effects of dried tomato pomace (DTP) feeding on the performance and apparent digestibility of growing rabbits. A total 54, 6-week old rabbits were divided into three equal groups and fed isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets containing 0 (CON), 10 (DTP-10) and 20 (DTP-20) per cent DTP for a period of 6 weeks. A digestibility trial carried out in the second week of the growth trial indicated that the digestibility of DM and EE remained similar among the three groups. However, rabbits fed DTP-containing diets showed higher (P 0.05) differences between experimental groups in terms of weight gain, average daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Interestingly, the highest level of DTP (i.e. at 20%) resulted in the lowest mortality. Moreover, supplementing the diet of rabbits with DTP decreased the cost of production and increased relative net revenue. It is concluded that the incorporation of dried tomato pomace rich in polyphenols up to 20% in the rabbitdiet contributes to improved protein digestibility.