The effect of different concentrations of gold nanoparticles on growth performance, toxicopathological and immunological parameters of broiler chickens

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate what dosage of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) would improve growth performance, antioxidant levels and immune defense in broiler chickens. The experiment was carried out on 90 one-day-old mixbred Cobb chicks. The birds were allocated into three groups with three replicates. Group (1) kept as a negative control. Groups (2) and (3) received 5, 15 ppm GNPs via drinking water weekly for 35 days of chicks’ life. Blood samples were collected at 8, 15, 22 and 36 days for oxidative stress evaluations and immunological studies. The birds were slaughtered at the ages of 36 days and thymus, spleen, busa of Fabricius and liver were collected for histopathological description, RT-PCR analysis and DNA fragmentation assay. Our results confirmed that adding of 15ppm GNPs in drinking water were induced remarkable blood oxidative stress damage, histopathological alterations, up-regulation of IL-6, Nrf2 gene expression, and DNA fragmentation in the examined immune organs of the broiler chickens as well as a significant reduction in the antibody titer against Newcastle (ND) and avian influenza (AI) viruses were noticed. On the other hand, the group received 5 ppm GNPs noticed better growth performance with the enhancement of the final food conversion ratio (FCR) without any significant difference in the previous toxicological and immunological parameters compared with the control groups. We suggest that feeding of 5ppm GNPs could improve the antioxidant capacity, immunity and performance in poultry but further food quality assurance tests are required in the future to confirm its safety for people.

Comparative assessment of the bactericidal effect of nanoparticles of copper oxide, silver, and chitosan-silver against Escherichia coli infection in broilers

“…Microscopic grading and scoring were performed to document lesion severity of the examined organs in different treated groups. The grading criteria for degenerative, necrotizing, and inflammatory lesions were assessed as none, slight, mild, moderate, and severe as follow; 0 (normal histology), 1 (<25%), 2 (25:50%), 3 (50:75%), 4 (>75% tissue damage) according to method described by Hassanen et al [ 27 ]. While grading scheme for multifocal lesions assessed according to the method documented by Hassanen et al [ 28 ] as follow: (0) no foci; (1) <3 foci; (2) 3–6 foci; (3) 7–12 foci; (4) >12 foci.…”

Toxicity of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs): A review

“…A study involving the immune organs of broiler chickens has confirmed that addition of 15 ppm AuNPs to drinking water has caused recognizable oxidative damage to blood, histopathological changes, up-regulation of IL-6, expression of Nrf2 gene, fragmentation of DNA, significant decrease in antibody titer against avian influenza (AI) and newcastle disease (ND) [ 104 ].…”

Silver Nanoparticles as Modulators of Myogenesis-Related Gene Expression in Chicken Embryos

“…The applications of nanotechnology in livestock and poultry production include optimizing the digestive efficiency, enhancing the immunity, and improving the performance [ 2 ]. Gold nanoparticles can boost antioxidant capability, immunity, and efficiency in poultry [ 3 ] while chromium nanoparticles increased skeletal muscle mass and improved pork quality [ 4 ]. Silver nanoparticles can be used in poultry production as an alternative to the use of antibiotic growth promoter [ 5 ].…”