{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T20:57:42Z","timestamp":1788987462445,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":90,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781827200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004242","name":"Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PNURSP2026R461"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2026R461"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004242","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["PNURSP2026R461"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2026R461"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05b0cyh02","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007613","name":"Majmaah University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["R-2026-271"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R-2026-271"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007613","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["R-2026-271"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R-2026-271"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01mcrnj60","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study evaluated the effects of adding zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnNP), L-arginine (L-Arg), or a combination of both to the diets of growing rabbits to mitigate the physiological and productive consequences of heat stress. Two hundred and eighty 35-day-old New Zealand White rabbits were randomly assigned to four experimental treatments, with 70 rabbits per treatment and seven replicates (10 rabbits\/replicate). The control group (Ctr) received the base diet without additives, while the diets of the other groups were fortified with arginine (L-Arg; 3 g\/kg), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnNP; 40 mg\/kg), or a combination of both (Arg-Zn). The results showed that the combined Arg-Zn significantly improved weight gain rate, feed conversion rate, carcass weight, and nutrient digestibility compared to the control group (p &lt; 0.05). At the physiological level, we observed increased serum levels of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin A (IgA), and triiodothyronine (T3), along with decreased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST, p &lt; 0.05) in Arg-Zn-fed rabbits. However, adding the Arg-Zn mixture contributed to a reduction in pathogenic bacteria counts and increased the volatile fatty acid (VFA) levels. At the molecular level, the gene expression of the inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-\u03b1) decreased; however, the gene expression of claudins-1 (CLDN-1), cationic amino acid transporter-1 (CAT-1), mucin-2 (MUC-2), sodium-glucose co-transporter-1 (SGLT-1), and interferon gamma (IFN\u03b3) increased (p &lt; 0.05) in Arg-Zn-fed rabbits. These results suggest that dietary supplementation with ZnNP and L-Arg may serve as an effective nutritional strategy for improving growth performance, antioxidant status, immune function, and intestinal integrity in rabbits exposed to high ambient temperatures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13060598","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T14:37:42Z","timestamp":1781879862000},"page":"598","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Dietary L-Arginine and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Improve Growth Performance, Oxidative Status, Immunity, and Intestinal Integrity Indicators in Heat-Stressed Weaned Rabbits"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5002-9387","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tahani M. I.","family":"Al-Hazani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biology Department, College of Science and Humanities, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 83, Al-Kharj 11940, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amirah S.","family":"Alahmari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manal A.","family":"Babaker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2207-8912","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed M.","family":"Elbaz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Animal and Poultry Nutrition Department, Desert Research Center, Mataria, Cairo 11753, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hagar E.","family":"Mohammed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Arish University, Al-Arish 45511, North Sinai, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hany A.","family":"Thabet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eman Kamel M.","family":"Khalfallah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biochemistry, Toxicology and Feed Deficiency Department, Animal Health Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza 12616, Giza, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed","family":"Ateya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Development of Animal Wealth, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Dakahlia, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9705-2481","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rowa K.","family":"Zarah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7071-8710","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Khairiah Mubarak","family":"Alwutayd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Assem","family":"Abdou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Animal Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"81","article-title":"Rabbits meat production in Egypt and its impact on food security, small holders income and economy","volume":"24","author":"Imam","year":"2020","journal-title":"Agric. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alqhtani, H.A., Alqahtani, H.A., Elbaz, A.M., Ateya, A., Abdelhady, A.Y., Safhi, F.A., Al-Rasheed, M., Mohamed, M.H., El-Deeb, W.M., and Rizk, M.A. (2026). 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