Facts about Rabbits...

Facts about Rabbits...

Amazing, Fun, and Amusing
Rabbit Facts

Do you want to know a few interesting facts about rabbits? Rabbits are amazing creatures; there is no argument there. They are more than just cute and fluffy pets; they are raised for fun, food and profit. There are many facts about rabbits that you have probably never even heard about, but are about to find out.

Recently, the nutritional value of rabbit meat has been reviewed by several researchers & authors, showing that rabbit meat has a high nutritional value compared with other meats.

The main components of meat, excluding water, are proteins and lipids.

(Fact 1) Rabbit meat is a lean meat rich in proteins of a high biological value and it is characterized by high levels of essential amino acids. Furthermore, meat is also an important source of highly available micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. (Fact 2) Rabbit meat does not contain uric acid and has a low content of purines. The information available on chemical composition of rabbit meat is extremely variable, especially regarding fat content and also on the different productive factors, especially feeding factors having a strong influence on the chemical composition of rabbit meat, in particular, on its lipid composition.

(Fact 3) Rabbit meat is characterized by its lower energetic value compared with red meats due to its low fat content. The average Fat content is 4.5%. Fatty acid composition of rabbit meat is characterized by high polyunsaturated fatty acid content. (Fact 4) The amount of cholesterol in rabbit meat is about 59 mg/100 g of muscle, lower values than those presented in meat from other species (61 mg in pork, 70 mg in beef, and 81 mg in chicken).

(Fact 5) The mineral fraction of rabbit meat is characterized by its low contents in sodium (49 and 37 mg/100 g for hind leg and loin, respectively) and iron (1.3 and 1.1 mg/100 g for hind leg and loin, respectively), while the phosphorus level is high (230 and 222 mg/100 g for hind leg and loin, respectively. Rabbit meat has a low zinc concentration (0.55 mg/100 g) and the copper concentration is quite similar to the meat of other species (0.03 mg/100 g). Selenium levels in rabbit meat depend on diet, reported to vary between 9 μg/100 and 22 μg/100 g.

Meat is an important source of B vitamins. (Fact 6) Consumption of 100 g of rabbit meat contributes to 8% of daily Vitamin B2, 12% of Vitamin B5, 21% of Vitamin B6, and 77% of Vitamin B3 requirements, and provides a fulfilment of the daily Vitamin B12 requirement. In addition, rabbit meat, as is true of other meats, contains only trace amounts of Vitamin A. Nevertheless, it should be noted that a high amount of this vitamin can be found in rabbit edible liver. Extra supplementation of Vitamin E in the diet (200 mg/kg) to improve the oxidative stability of the meat has led to an increase of almost 50% of Vitamin E in rabbit meat.

(Fact 7) Rabbit meat is all white meat.

References.

1.       Journal review - 9th World Rabbit Congress – June 10-13, 2008 – Verona – Italy

2.        http://www.facts-about-rabbits.com/rabbits-facts.html

3.       Nutritional value of rabbit meat : a review by S Combes (http://www.inra.fr/productions-animales/spip.php?page=en-article&id_article=583)

4.       http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10523784

5.       www.ardengrabbit.com/facts.html

6.       www.threelittleladiesrabbitry.com/.../nutritional-value-of-rabbit-meat/

7.       http://www.konijn.be/konijn/Waarom_EN.aspx

8.       Others