Effects of feeding a liquid diet for one year to New Zealand White rabbits

We compared the long-term effects of a newly designed liquid diet with a commercially available dry diet in New Zealand White rabbits. Body weight gain, feed consumption, and plasma lipid concentrations were measured periodically throughout the 1-year study. In addition, specific hepatic enzyme activities in serum were quantified to examine the effects of liquid diet on the liver over the 1-year feeding trial. At 52 weeks, body weight gains between the liquid- and dry-fed groups were similar. Regardless of sex, plasma phospholipid concentrations were higher in the control group than in the liquid-fed group. Plasma triglyceride concentrations were increased in liquid-fed female rabbits, compared with either male group or control-fed females. A somewhat similar effect was observed in plasma cholesterol concentration, which was higher in female rabbits regardless of diet type. After the 52-week trial, the rabbits had no clinical biochemical signs of liver damage. Results of this study indicate that a liquid diet can be fed to New Zealand White rabbits for a long period, and may provide an alternative route (food source) for future pathophysiologic studies.