Individual and combined effects of genistein and hesperidin on immunity and intestinal morphometry in lipopolysacharide-challenged broiler chickens

Abstract

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.

Improved performance and immunological responses as the result of dietary genistein supplementation of broiler chicks

“…Seven (2008) observed that utilization of Turkish propolis (an ISF-enriched source) into the laying hens' diets increased feed intake and improved egg production percentage and FCR values. In contrast, Kamboh and Zhu (2014) reported that genistein and hesperidin did not affect weight gain and FCR in lipopolysaccharide-challenged broiler chicks. These variations in results may be partially explained by the fact that effects of these compounds are dependent on usage dose, duration of use and individual metabolism.…”

“…The lower ADFI in groups fed on the higher dosages of genistein is consistent with findings of Jiang et al (2007), who reported that the levels more than 20 mg soy ISF/kg depress feed consumption in broiler chicks. Of course, some researchers reported that genistein supplementation of broiler chicks had no marked impact on feed intake, weight gain or feed conversion efficiency (Iqbal et al, 2014;Kamboh and Zhu, 2014).…”

Flavonoids: Health Promoting Phytochemicals for Animal Production-a Review

“…But in recent studies, several researchers have reported the gut promotory effects of herbal plants containing adequate amounts of flavonoids in several species of farm animals and poultry; and suggested the antioxidant polyphenols as an important tool to modulate the functional architecture of the small intestine (Awad et al, 2011;Viveros et al, 2011). Some more recent studies have declared that purified flavonoids genistein and hesperidin (Kamboh and Zhu, 2014) and flavonoids-rich fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves (Zhang et al, 2014) could promote the intestinal morphology and absorptive function in growing broilers. Interestingly, while both studies indicated the potential of flavonoids to minimize the deleterious effects of LPS and improved intestinal development in immune-stressed chickens.…”

“…A recent study has demonstrated that citrus and soy flavonoids could significantly improve the immunity of LPS-challenged broilers. The study suggested the use of plant flavonoids as a feed additive to ameliorate the negative effects of circulatory low dose endotoxaemia on animal production (Kamboh and Zhu, 2014). Another study, addressed the IgY enhancing effects of supplemental quercetin in growing broilers, that obviously indicated the potential of quercetin to promote mucosal immunity (Hager-Theodorides et al, 2014).…”

Effects of berberine on the growth performance, antioxidative capacity and immune response to lipopolysaccharide challenge in broilers

“…A study by Qiu found that broiler chickens infected with 250 µg/mg LPS showed no significant change in growth performance (Wu, Wang, & Qi, 2016). Additionally, Kamboh and Zhu (2014) demonstrated that repeated intraperitoneal injections of broilers with LPS at a dose of 0.25 mg/kg BW did not affect the performance of the broilers. Zhang, Shi, et al (2017b) found that intraperitoneal infection with a dose of 500 µg LPS per kg BW significantly reduced the value of ADG and ADFI in broilers at 21 days of age.…”