ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
This article is part of the Research TopicNatural Bioactives: A Promising Avenue for Metabolic Syndrome TherapyView all 6 articles
Comparative Effects of Dietary Pomegranate Peel and Aloe Vera Gel on Growth, Metabolic pathways, Antioxidant Status, Molecular Docking, and Intestinal Integrity in Growing Rabbits
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jazan University College of Science, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
- 2National Research Centre (Egypt), Cairo, Egypt
- 3Zagazig University Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig, Egypt
- 4Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
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Aloe vera gel is rich in polysaccharides (acemannan), phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals, while Pomegranate peel (Punica granatum L.) is a valuable source of punicalagin, polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. This study examined the impact of these bioactive-rich supplements on growth performance, metabolic activity, digestive enzyme function, antioxidant status, levels of nucleic acids and proteins, as well as gastrointestinal histomorphometry in growing rabbits. Thirty male New Zealand White rabbits (56 ± 3 days) at the start of the trial, corresponding to the early post-weaning/growing phase in New Zealand White rabbits. Rabbits were randomly divided into three groups (n = 10) and treated for 14 weeks. The control group (C) received a basal diet; the pomegranate group (P) received the basal diet supplemented with 4.5% pomegranate peel; and the Aloe vera group (A) received the basal diet with drinking water containing Aloe vera gel (500 mg/L). Both supplemented groups exhibited significantly higher body weight and improved metabolic indices, including elevated blood glucose, total protein and lipid profile, compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Activities of amylase, lipase, and protease increased significantly, with stronger stimulation observed in the pomegranate group. Antioxidant assays revealed higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and catalase (CAT) activity, accompanied by reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in both supplemented groups (p < 0.05). DNA and total protein concentrations were also elevated, particularly in the pomegranate group. Histomorphometric analysis of the duodenum showed significant improvements in villus height, crypt depth, and glandular area (p < 0.05). Aloe vera supplementation exerted greater effects on villus and crypt architecture, whereas pomegranate peel predominantly enhanced glandular development. Molecular docking simulations revealed that acemannan and punicalagin possess high binding affinities for pro-apoptotic and antioxidant targets. Specifically, acemannan exhibited markedly lower binding energies than punicalagin for both BAX (–10.627 vs. –7.540 kcal/mol) and SOD (–10.544 vs. –7.663 kcal/mol). These results suggest that acemannan may exert superior bioactivity by effectively modulating BAX-mediated apoptosis and augmenting SOD-driven antioxidant defense through stable protein-ligand complexation. dietary supplementation with pomegranate peel or Aloe vera significantly improved growth performance,
Keywords: Acemannan, aloe vera, antioxidant activity, growth performance, molecular docking, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Punica granatum, punicalagin
Received: 19 Nov 2025; Accepted: 04 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Khormi, Soliman, Abdelnour and Bakeer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Seham Samir Soliman
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