Growth performance, intestinal morphology, and meat quality in relation to alpha-lipoic acid associated with vitamin C and E in broiler chickens under tropical conditions

Abstract

-This study was conducted to examine the effect of alpha-lipoic acid with vitamin C and E on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and meat quality in broiler chickens under tropical conditions. A total of 288 one-day-old male ROSS 308 chicks (40±0.1 g) were used in a completely randomized design and allotted to one of six dietary treatments to form sixe replicates per treatment (eight birds per cage). The six dietary treatments were: a corn-soybean meal-based diet (NC; no antimicrobial compounds added) with 8 ppm alpha-lipoic acid (ALA); 150 ppm vitamin C and 75 ppm vitamin E (E-75); E-75 plus ALA (E-75-ALA); 150 ppm vitamin C and 50 ppm vitamin E (E-50) plus ALA (E-50-ALA); and 150 ppm vitamin C and 25 ppm vitamin E (E-25) plus ALA (E-25-ALA). All dietary treatments were continuously provided in liquid form, dissolved in water. Birds were housed in a battery cage (n = 36), and were offered dietary treatments on an ad libitum basis. The ambient temperature was maintained at 32±1 ºC for the first three weeks and reduced gradually to 28 ºC by the end of the experiment (day 35) to induce moderate tropical condition. One bird per pen (n = 6), and another bird per pen (n = 6) were euthanized via cervical dislocation to obtain terminal ileum to measure villus height and crypt depth at day 21, and to harvest breast meat and drumsticks to evaluate meat quality traits at day 35, respectively. Dietary treatment E-75-ALA improved body weight and average daily gain compared with birds fed other dietary treatments from day 1 to day 35. Birds fed dietary treatment E-75-ALA and E-50-ALA had higher villus height than those fed the other dietary treatments at day 21. Dietary treatments E-75-ALA and E-50-ALA reduced thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in drumsticks compared with other dietary treatments, but only treatment E-75-ALA decreased TBARS in breast meat at day 35. Liquid form of antioxidant compounds such as E-75-ALA can improve growth performance, histology of terminal ileum, and meat quality traits in broiler chickens under moderate tropical condition for 35 days.

Influence of β-galacto-oligosaccharide on growth performance and components of intestinal barrier in broilers during heat stress

“…During heat exposure, the results of the current study revealed a significant decrease in villus surface area of the small intestine, which was a reflection of a decrease in villus height. Moreover, the VH : CD was lower during heat stress, which again shows that the intestinal environment was unfavourable for the absorption of nutrients owing to the shortening of villus height (Yoo et al, 2016). These findings are in agreement with the results of the authors' previous study (Ashraf et al, 2013) and those of other heat-stress trials conducted in broilers (Silva et al, 2010;Haldar et al, 2011;Song et al, 2014).…”

“…In broiler production, exposure of bird to heat stress results in economic losses and welfare issues. To achieve optimal production targets, particularly during the summer months, the temperature of the shed must be maintained in a narrow range of 18 °C to 22 °C, which is costly (Yoo et al, 2016). Antibiotics were utilized in the poultry industry to reduce the adverse effects of environmental stress, but their use in animal feed was banned by the EU in 2006 (Skoufos et al, 2016).…”

“…For optimal growth and production, broilers must be raised in their thermoneural zone, but in Pakistan environmental temperatures during the summer months can reach 52 °C (Kazmi et al, 2015). Although controlled poultry sheds are equipped with temperature-mitigating devices, temperature maintenance by them is costly (Yoo et al, 2016). Moreover, severe energy crises in summer make it more difficult to maintain the temperature of the shed.…”

Prebiotic Driven Increases in IL-17A Do Not Prevent Campylobacter jejuni Colonization of Chickens

“…Increases in the absorption surface provide a favorable environment for nutrient uptake leading to efficient feed utilization. Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of dietary additives on Ross 308 broiler chicken villus architecture and body weight gain during heat stress challenges such as prebiotic supplements (Silva et al, 2010), alpha-lipoic acid additive (Yoo et al, 2016), or probiotic mixtures (Song et al, 2014). Similarly, the data presented here suggests that nutrient absorption competence associated with the development of villi in the small intestine of birds fed the GOS diet, leads to an increase in body weight despite gut colonization by C. jejuni.…”

Effect of Pre-Hatching Thermal Conditioning and Post-Hatch Vitamin C Addition on Productive Performance and Some Blood Parameters of Broiler Chicks.

“…On the contrary, Elsayed et al (2009) who found that TC of local chicken eggs at 39.5to 40.5°C for 3h/d at 15-17 day of incubation, resulted in a significant increase in plasma total proteins level. Moreover, the significant increase in plasma TP level by vitamin C addition is in close agreement with many results which showed that the addition of vitamin C to the drinking water could significantly reduce the physiological stress and hence improve the biochemical parameters of blood (Pardue and Thaxton., 1986); (Kutlu and forbes., 1993a,b); ( Konce, et al, 2009); ( Imik, et al, 2013) and (Yoo,et al, 2016). P˂0.05).…”