Effects of nicarbazin on intestinal digestion and absorption of nutrients in the rabbit.

Nicarbazin is an anticoccidial drug, used mainly in birds, which has shown several other effects including inhibition of growth and feed efficiency in poultry, and stimulation of sugar and amino acid intestinal absorption in rabbit. The present work was designed to determine whether nicarbazin added to the feed, affects growth and feed intake in rabbit, and whether the continuous ingestion of nicarbazin can alter the mechanisms of intestinal nutrient absorption or digestion in this species. Nicarbazin, administered at the recommended dose (125 ppm) had no harmful effects either on growth or on feed intake of animals. After treatment for one month with nicarbazin at the dose of 125 ppm added to the feed, rabbits displayed a higher transport ability of both D-glucose and L-leucine through the enterocyte plasma membranes than did untreated rabbits. These animals also showed higher specific activities of two brush-border enzymes, sucrase and aminopeptidase N, than the control animals.