The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of lycopene on growth performance, abdominal fat deposition, serum lipids levels, activities of hepatic lipid metabolism related enzymes and genes expression in broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 256 healthy one-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly divided into four groups with eight replicates of eight birds each. Birds were fed basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg lycopene, respectively. Results: Dietary 100 mg/kg lycopene increased the body weight at 21 day of age compared to the control group (p<0.05). Compared to the basal diet, broilers fed diet with 100 mg/kg lycopene had decreased abdominal fat weight, and broilers fed diet with 100 and 200 mg/kg lycopene had decreased abdominal fat percentage (p<0.05). Compared to control, diets with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg lycopene reduced the levels of total triglyceride and total cholesterol in serum, and diets with 100 and 200 mg/kg lycopene reduced the level of serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (p<0.05). The activity of fatty acid synthase (FAS) in 400 mg/kg lycopene treated broilers and the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg lycopene treated broilers were lower than those fed basal diet (p<0.05). Lycopene increased the mRNA abundance of adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase α (AMPK-α), A c c e p t e d A r t i c l e whereas decreased the mRNA abundance of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1, FAS and ACC compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Dietary lycopene supplementation can alleviate abdominal fat deposition and decrease serum lipids levels, possibly through activating the AMPK signaling pathway, thereby regulating lipid metabolism such as lipogenesis. Therefore, lycopene or lycopene-rich plant materials might be added to poultry feed to regulate lipid metabolism.

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Background Dietary constituents in certain bioactive substances may alleviate the toxicity of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Lycopene is a natural bioactive substance with powerful antioxidant, this study investigated whether dietary lycopene supplementation could alleviate AFB1-induced liver damage through inhibiting cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isozymes and improving detoxification and antioxidation with nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) activation in broiler chickens. 320 healthy one-day-old male broiler chickens were randomly allotted into five groups and fed basal diet (Control), basal diet with AFB1 and 0, 100, 200 or 400 mg/kg lycopene, respectively. At 42 days of age, 8 broiler chickens per group were sampled.Results Compared to the control group, AFB1-exposed birds had depressed growth performance, hepatotoxicity and oxidative damage. The various lycopene levels prevented AFB1-induced growth depression, decreased activities and mRNA expressions of hepatic CYP450 isozymes, reduced reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage products, improved reduced glutathione (GSH)-dependent detoxification system and antioxidant system. Moreover, lycopene elevated the mRNA expressions of Nrf2 and its target genes, containing glutathione-s-transferase isozymes, GSH synthesis-related enzymes and antioxidases in AFB1-exposed broiler chickens.Conclusions As an effective anti-stress and hepatoprotective antioxidant, lycopene alleviated AFB1-induced liver damage possibly through inhibiting CYP450 isozymes and improving Nrf2-mediated detoxification and antioxidant systems in broiler chickens. Therefore, Lycopene and lycopene-enriched materials could be taken into consideration as effective hepatoprotective and anti-stress additives in poultry, and benefit the resulting food safety.