Effects of dietary fumaric acid on the growth performance, immune response, relative weight and antioxidant status of immune organs in broilers exposed to chronic heat stress

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary fumaric acid (FA) on growth performance, immune responses, immune organ index and antioxidant status in broilers under chronic heat stress (HS). A total of 200 21-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly assigned in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two diets (basal diet or 10 g/kg FA diet) and two temperatures (thermoneutral or HS) for 21 days. On day 42, growth performance, immune organ index, immune function and antioxidative ability were determined. HS resulted in a significant reduction in final body weight (FBW), average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), antibody titres against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and Newcastle disease virus, IgM, IgG, relative weights of spleen, thymus and bursa of Fabricius, but a significant increase in the feed conversion ratio (FCR), activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the bursa, contents of malondialdehyde and total carbonyl (TC) in thymus and bursa (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation of FA increased FBW, ADFI, ADG, antibody titres against SRBC, IgG, relative weights of spleen and bursa, activity of GPx in thymus and bursa, whereas it decreased the FCR and TC of thymus and bursa. These results suggest that dietary 10 g/kg FA had positive effects on growth performance and immune function through improving the antioxidative capacity of immune organs.

Biochemical and Oxidative Stress Parameters of Broilers Fed Meal and Protein Isolate of <i>Mucuna pruriens</i> Seeds

“…This increase in MDA content means that these animals were under stress. This finding is in disagreement with those of El-bahr et al [37] in broilers fed dietary microalgae and in agreement with previous works of He et al [38] in broilers fed on dietary fumacic acid, Mirzaie et al [39] in broiler chickens fed on dietary Spirulina and Ngatchic et al [36] in rats fed on M. pruriens flour and protein-rich Mucuna product.…”

“…Otherwise, in addition to the significant increase in MDA and CAT activity in the organs and in the plasma at the same time, our results imply that the activation of anti-oxidative enzymes cannot prevent the oxidative injury induced by dietary exposure. It should be noted that oxidative stress is associated not only with the changes in the scavenging capacity of antioxidant systems but also with the elevated production of free radicals [38]. The increased MDA level and activity of anti-oxidative enzyme (CAT) imply that the balance between the production and scavenging of hydroxyl radicals is disrupted, resulting in their compensatory increase and an adaptive mechanism underlying the increase in oxidative stress [38].…”

Blue-Green Algae (Spirulina platensis) Alleviates the Negative Impact of Heat Stress on Broiler Production Performance and Redox Status

“…One of the challenges facing the modern broiler chicken industry is the high ambient temperatures, especially in regions depending on the open production system [ 1 ]. Modern, rapidly growing broiler genotypes are more sensitive to heat stress due to higher metabolic activity, generating more body heat [ 2 ]. Lin et al [ 3 ] reported that the optimal production temperature for growing broilers ranged from 18 to 22 °C, while heat stress may occur at an average of 30 °C.…”

Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Cellular Immune Response in Broiler Chickens

“…The relative weights of immune organs reflect the development and function of the immune system inclusive of the humoral and cellular immunity. Consequently, the mass and cellular status of these organs can generally indicate an immune competence [31,43,44].…”