Several experimental models, using nutritional restriction in rats
and mice, have been adopted to study the mechanisms involved in
the foetal programming of adult disease (Vuguin, 2007;Warner and
Ozanne, 2010). Previous studies on rabbits have evaluated the effects
of restricted feeding during pregnancy on productive performance
(Manal et al., 2010; Rommers et al., 2004a), as well as on
embryo-foetal and placental development (Cappon et al., 2005;
Matsuoka et al., 2012), but little is known on hormones and metabolites
involved in energy homeostasis.