Genistein and hesperidin have been shown to have beneficial effects in several animal models including mice, rats, pigs, and humans. This study investigated the individual and combined effects of genistein (an isoflavone) and hesperidin (a flavanone) on immunity and intestinal morphometry in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged broiler chickens. Seven hundred twenty 1-d-old commercial Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly divided into 6 treatments, with 6 replicates of 20 birds each. Chicks were fed a basal diet without any additive (control), supplemented with 5 mg of genistein/kg of feed (G5) and 20 mg of hesperidin/kg of feed (H20), or a mixture of genistein and hesperidin (1:4) with doses of 5 (GH5), 10 (GH10), and 20 (GH20) mg/kg of feed for 42 d. On d 16, 18, and 20, one-half the birds from each group were separated and injected intraperitoneally with Escherichia coli LPS (250 µg/kg of BW) to induce the immunological stimulation. Samples were collected on 21 and 42 d. The results showed that LPS treatment exerts immunomodulatory effects (P < 0.05) in phagocytic activity at 21 d, whereas a few negative effects including reduced villus length and increased crypt depth were observed in some segments of the small intestine. Both genistein and hesperidin seemed to modify the immunity positively by altering the phagocytic activity (P < 0.01). Parameters of intestinal morphometry such as villus length, crypt depth, villus width, and villus length/crypt depth ratios were also improved (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) by the supplemental genistein and hesperidin in both LPS-unchallenged and -challenged groups. However, no effect (P > 0.05) was observed for BWG, FI, and FCR of broilers. Overall, genistein and hesperidin improved the immunity and the morphometry of small intestine in a dose-dependent manner. These findings provided the first account on the in vivo effects of genistein and hesperidin for immunostimulation and morphometric gut development in LPS-challenged chickens. Thus, both compounds may be used as alternative feed additives in the poultry industry to promote gut health and improve immunity against infections.

This study investigated the supplemental effects of the flavonoids genistein and hesperidin for biomarkers of heat stress in broilers reared under persistent summer stress. A total of 360 one-day-old, mixed-sex broiler chickens were divided into 6 treatment groups: control or supplemented with 5 mg of genistein•kg of feed(-1), 20 mg of hesperidin•kg of feed(-1), or a mixture of genistein and hesperidin (1:4) at a dosage of 5 mg•kg(-1), 10 mg•kg(-1), and 20 mg•kg(-1) of feed. Broilers were slaughtered at 42 d and samples were analyzed for hematological profile, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and heat shock protein 70 mRNA levels. Results showed that dietary genistein and hesperidin improved (P < 0.05) the weekly performance of broilers particularly during the finisher period. The circulating heterophils and heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratios were found to decrease (P < 0.01) in the treated groups. Moreover, biomarkers of heat stress including the level of creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and heat shock protein 70 mRNA of breast muscle was also changed (P < 0.01) positively by the dietary compounds with pronounced effects of combined treatments. These findings suggested that genistein and hesperidin could be a prime strategy to ameliorate summer stress effects in broilers; and a combination of both compounds may lead to mutual synergistic effects. It could be suggested that dietary use of both genistein and hesperidin as a feed supplement may offer a potential nutritional strategy in tropical and subtropical regions to overcome the deleterious effects of persistent summer stress in broiler production.