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The Beneficial Effects of Probiotics on Rabbit’s Productivity and Health – A Review Cover

The Beneficial Effects of Probiotics on Rabbit’s Productivity and Health – A Review

Open Access
|Jan 2026

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Beneficial effects of probiotics on rabbit’s productivity and health
Beneficial effects of probiotics on rabbit’s productivity and health

Summary of the beneficial effects of probiotics on rabbit’s productivity and health

ProbioticLevelAnimalMain impactsReferences

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Saccharomyces cerevisiae5 g/kg dietNew Zealand White growing rabbitsIncreased Lactobacillus count.Elbaz et al. (2023)
Minimized E. coli count.
Enhanced ileal villus height and villi height: crypt depth ratio.
Improved all nutrients’ digestibility.
Elevated serum values of thyroid hormones (T3 and T4).
Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 11181 and Clostridium butyricum1 × 108and 2.5 × 106 CFU/kg dietNew Zealand White growing rabbitsEnhanced serum concentrations of total protein, globulin, IgM, and HDL-cholesterol.Alagawany et al. (2023)
Improved cecal contents of total volatile fatty acids and propionic acid.
Improved duodenal histomorphology parameters (greater villus height, greater muscular layer thickness, and lesser crypt depth).
Improved growth performance traits.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Bacillus subtilis1×108 CFU/g and 3×107 CFU/gNew Zealand White growing rabbitsIncreased length of small intestine.Helal et al. (2021)
Increased villus height and crypt depth.
Reduced E. coli and Clostridium perfringens count.
Increased Lactobacillus count.
Aspergillus awamori100 and 150 mg/kg dietAPRI growing rabbitsEnhanced villi parameters (height and thickness).El-Deep et al. (2021)
Enhanced digestibility coefficients of protein, lipids, and fibres.
Improved the catalase activity and decreased malondialdehyde concentration.
Improved average body weight and weight gain and decreased feed conversion ratio.
Improved phagocytic activity and phagocytic index.
Bacillus BSWJ2017001, BSWJ2017002, and BSWJ20170031.0 × 105– 1.0 × 107 CFU/gRex growing rabbitsEnhanced villus height and villi height: crypt depth ratio and decreased crypt depth in jejunum.Wang et al. (2020)
Enhanced gut count of Lactobacillus and Bacillus, and reduced number of E. coli.
Increased indexes of thymus and vermiform appendix.
Improved serum concentrations of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase.
Reduced serum concentrations of malondialdehyde.
Elevated caecal contents of acetic, propionic, and butyric acids.
Enhanced activities of protease, amylase, and cellulose.
Improved feed conversion ratio.
Clostridium butyricum1.0 × 104– 1.0 × 105 CFU/gRex growing rabbitsElevated the abundance of total bacteria, Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Firmicutes, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Bacteroidetes, Clostridium cluster IV, Clostridium cluster XIVa, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium in duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon.Liu et al. (2019)
Increased height of villi and villi height: crypt depth ratio and reduced depth of crypts in small intestine segments.
Increased relative expressions of MyD88, TLR2, and TLR4 and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, INF-γ, and TNF-α).
Increased secretory IgA (sIgA) in duodenum and ileum.
Increased activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase and reduced the malondialdehyde content in duodenum and ileum.
Increased average daily weight gain.
Lactobacillus acidophilus or mixture of Bacillus subtilis + L. acidophilus1×106 CFU/g or 0.5×106 CFU/g + 0.5×107 CFU/gNew Zealand White growing rabbitsIncreased gut useful bacteria count (Lactobacilli and Bacilli), and decreased coliforms’ count.Phuoc and Jamikorn (2017)
Improved body weight gain and feed conversion ratio.
Improved digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, and gross energy.
Bacillus subtilis1.0 × 106 CFU/gNew Zealand White growing rabbitsImproved the relative abundance of Ruminococcus and reduced the percentage of Bacteroides and Clostridium at the phylum level.Guo et al. (2017)
Enhanced the expressions of innate immune-related genes (nucleotide oligomerization domain 1 “NOD1”, NOD-like receptor C3 “NLRC3”) and NLRX1) in jejunum.
Enhanced the expressions of innate immune-related genes (nucleotide oligomerization domain 1 “NOD1”, NOD-like receptor C3 (“NLRC3”) and NLRX1) in jejunum.
Elevated serum concentrations of IgG and IgA.
Increased thymus % and spleen %.
Improved growth performance.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2025-0043 | Journal eISSN: 2300-8733 | Journal ISSN: 1642-3402
Language: English
Page range: 189 - 199
Submitted on: Aug 19, 2024
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Accepted on: Mar 27, 2025
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Published on: Jan 30, 2026
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: Volume open

© 2026 Tarek A. Ebeid, Ahmed A. Saleh, Ibrahim T. El-Ratel, Abdullah N. Alkhalaf, Emad F. Mousa, published by National Research Institute of Animal Production
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.