The Effect of Oxytocin on the Body Weight of Male Rabbits

• Areej A. Mohammed

  Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya

  Author

• Aisha F. Bonaama

  Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya

  Author

• Souad A. M. Moftah

  Department of Zoology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Benghazi University, Almarj, Libya

  Author

• Ameerah T. Ramadhan

  Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya

  Author

• Abdulsalam M. A. Bolhaj

  Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya

  Author

• Somya A. Aregeb

  Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya

  Author

• Mohamed A. ElMabrouk

  Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya

  Author

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of two different doses of oxytocin on weight. Adult male rabbits (15) were weighed and provided with food twice daily for 3 weeks to determine the amount of food consumed daily and the time spent feeding by each rabbit.  After 3 weeks the rabbits were weighed and divided randomly into 3groups: the control group, the low dose group, and the high dose group. The animals were injected daily for 3 weeks. During that time the amount of food consumed and the time spent feeding in both periods were determined. After the end of the treatment period the rabbits were weighed, and sacrificed. The results of this study showed that before treatment the rabbits consumed more food in the evening period than they did in the afternoon period. The mean time spent feeding in the evening period was slightly higher than that spent in the afternoon period; however, this difference was not statistically significant. After treatment, there was still significant difference between the means of the consumed food in the afternoon and the evening period for the control group. The mean amounts of food consumed in both periods by the treated groups were slightly reduced, but this reduction was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the mean time spent feeding in the evening period was slightly higher than that of the afternoon period for the 3 groups; however, these differences were not significant. The mean weight of the control group was slightly increased after treatment with the hormone; and the mean weights of the treated groups were slightly reduced after treatment. However, changes in body weighs were not statistically significant.

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Copyright (c) 2021 Areej A. Mohammed, Aisha F. Bonaama, Souad A. M. Moftah, Ameerah T. Ramadhan, Abdulsalam M. A. Bolhaj, Somya A. Aregeb, Mohamed A. ElMabrouk

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