The effects of melatonin treatment on wool production and hair follicle cycle in angora rabbits

Animal Research, Jul 2018

József Lanszki, René-Gérard Thébault, Daniel Allain, Zsolt Szendrõ, Csilla Eiben

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The effects of melatonin treatment on wool production and hair follicle cycle in angora rabbits

Anim. Res. The effects of melatonin treatment on wool production and hair follicle cycle in angora rabbits József LANSZKI 3 René-Gérard THÉBAULT 1 Daniel ALLAIN 2 Zsolt SZENDRÕ 3 Csill 3 EIBEN 0 0 Institute for Small Animal Research , PO Box 417, 2101 Gödöllõ , Hungary 1 INRA, UE Génétique Animale Phanères , Le Magneraud, BP 52, 17700 Surgères , France 2 INRA, Station d'Amélioration Génétique des Animaux , BP 27, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan Cedex , France 3 University of Kaposvár, Faculty of Animal Science , PO Box 16, 7401 Kaposvár , Hungary - The aims of this study were to examine the effect of melatonin treatment on (1) the quantity of wool production and fibre quality traits, (2) feed consumption and body weight and (3) hair follicle activity in the German angora rabbits. The study involved 106 male and female angora rabbits (raised under natural photoperiod), between the initial ages of 200-210 days. Half of the stock was treated with melatonin (36 mg per rabbit) either in May prior to the summer solstice, or in July subsequent to the solstice. Other animals served as untreated controls. In May two methods of wool harvesting: defleecing or shearing, were tested, while in July two different intervals between wool harvests, 98 and 80 days, were compared. Skin samples were taken from May onwards six times during the experimental period. Melatonin treatment increased significantly total wool production (by 17.7%, P < 0.01), weight of first grade wool (by 14.1%, P < 0.01), fibre length (by 5.6%, P < 0.001), wool production per day (by 17.3%, P < 0.01) and per kg of live weight (by 14.6%, P < 0.05). The melatonin treatment also led to a significant increase in feed consumption and body weight during the first weeks following melatonin treatment. Melatonin treatment did not exert any significant effect on the content of the different fibre types, or on bristle dimensions (area and diameter), but resulted in a 32% (P < 0.001) increase in the number of active follicles (lateral primaries and secondaries) per hair follicle group. The date of treatment had a significant influence on the quantity of first grade wool with higher production observed only when animals are treated in July. The treatment proved to be more effective in the defleeced rabbits than in the shorn ones. - nourriture et (3) sur le cycle d’activité des follicules pileux chez le lapin angora allemand. L’étude a porté sur 106 lapins angora, mâles et femelles, âgés de 200 à 210 jours au début de l’expérience et élevés sous photopériode naturelle. La moitié d’entre eux a reçu un traitement à la mélatonine (36 mg par lapin), un premier groupe au mois de mai, avant le solstice d’été, un autre groupe en juillet, après le solstice. Les animaux non traités ont servi de témoins. En mai, deux méthodes de récolte de la toison ont été pratiquées : l’épilation et la tonte ; alors qu’en juillet, deux intervalles entre récoltes : 80 et 98 jours ont été comparés. Six échantillons de peau par animal ont été prélevés à partir de mai, durant toute la période expérimentale. Le traitement à la mélatonine a augmenté significativement la production totale de laine (+17,7 %, P < 0,01), le poids de la laine de 1re qualité (+14,1 %, P < 0,01), la longueur des fibres (+5,6 %, P < 0,001), la production de laine par jour (+7,3 %, P < 0,01) et par kg de poids vif (+14,6 %, P < 0,05). Le traitement à la mélatonine a également provoqué un accroissement significatif de la consommation d’aliment et du poids vif, durant les premières semaines du traitement. En revanche, aucun effet significatif n’a été observé sur les dimensions des « jarres » (surface et diamètre). Le traitement a augmenté de 32 % (P < 0,001) le nombre de follicules pileux (primaires latéraux et secondaires) en activité par groupe folliculaire. La période de traitement a eu un effet significatif (P < 0,001) sur la quantité de laine de première classe, ainsi la production des animaux traités au mois de juillet a été plus élevée. Le traitement a été plus efficace chez les lapins épilés que chez les animaux tondus. mélatonine / lapins angora / production de poils / caractéristiques des fibres / activité des follicules pileux 1. INTRODUCTION In temperate climates the wool production of angora rabbits fluctuates with the seasons, summer production levels being found to be the lowest [ 1 ,13, 14, 17, 18 ] in both French and German strains and irrespective of the method used for wool harvesting, as French rabbits are defleeced and while German ones are shorn [18]. The weight of wool produced is influenced by the number of fibres, their length and their diameter [ 14 ]. The number of growing fibres per hair follicle group is determined by the season, through the photoperiod [ 18 ] and it has been shown that the ratio of inactive hair follicles is 12% in spring and 28 to 30% in summer [ 13 ]. In summer the adverse effects of both long day length and hot conditions are simultaneously present. In the d (...truncated)


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József Lanszki, René-Gérard Thébault, Daniel Allain, Zsolt Szendrõ, Csilla Eiben. The effects of melatonin treatment on wool production and hair follicle cycle in angora rabbits, Animal Research, pp. 79-89, Volume 50, Issue 1, DOI: doi:10.1051/animres:2001118