Two reviews are available in published literature relating to the effects of ascorbic acid on poultry performance. The first review was written by Pardue and Thaxton in 1986 who reviewed the role of ascorbic acid in alleviating the negative effect of heat stress in poultry birds. The second review was presented by Whitehead and Keller in 2003, who detailed the general effects of ascorbic acid in poultry birds, not taking into consideration 'heat stress'. The first review is deficient in the literature published after 1986, while the second review does not describe the effect of ascorbic acid in heat stressed birds. The present review describes the past and present knowledge of ascorbic acid in alleviating heat stress in poultry birds with new aspects. Heat stress is associated with compromised performance and productivity through a decline in feed intake, nutrient utilisation, growth rate, egg production and quality, feed efficiency and immunity. Heat stress is also characterised by a reduced antioxidant status in birds, resulting in increased oxidative stress. Moreover, male fertility is decreased when birds are exposed to heat stress. Supplementation of 250 mg of ascorbic acid per kg of feed has been found to be optimum to improve feed intake, body weight gain, feed efficiency, egg production and quality, nutrient digestibility, immune response and antioxidant status in poultry birds. This work compiles past and present information about the role of ascorbic acid in heat-stressed poultry

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Background: Scrophularia striata is a well-known plant in Iranian traditional medicine and its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties make it a logical adjuvant to improve wound healing. This study was designed to evaluate the wound healing potential of S. striata on cutaneous wounds in rat. Methods: A full-thickness excisional wounds was induced on the back of 75 Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were randomly allocated into five groups, treated with 1ml basal cream, 1ml tetracycline (3%), 1ml S. striata 5%, 1ml S. striata 10% and untreated (control). Five animals of each group were euthanized at each of 10, 20 and 30-days post-injury (DPI) and wounds were assessed through gross and histopathological analyses. Results: Treated rats with S. striata showed a significant decrease in the wound area during the experiment compared to other groups. Additionally, treatment with S. striata decresed the number of lymphocytes and enhanced the number of fibroblasts at the earlier stages and increased number of fibrocytes at the later stages of wound healing. Other parameters such as alignment of the healing tissue, re-epithelilization and epithelial formation, enhanced maturity of the collagen fibers and fibroblasts and large capillary-sized blood vessels showed significant changes when compared to control. The best wound healing activity was observed with the high dose of S. striata. Conclusion: The present study showed that application of S. striata extract on wounds induces considerable wound contraction and accelerates healing and it may be suggested for treating different types of wounds in animal and human beings.