Antioxidant and immune system status, plasma lipid, abdominal fat, and growth performance of broilers exposed to heat stress and fed diets supplemented with pomegranate pulp (Punica granatum L.)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Pomegranate pulp (PP), an antioxidant source, is a major by-product of pomegranate processing industry. Four-hundred and forty d-old broilers were randomly allocated to eight treatments consisting of five replicates. The birds were divided into one of 2×4 factorial experiments, including two controlled housing temperatures (21°C for 24 h/d thermoneutral, TN; or 37°C for 8 h/d heat stress, HS) and four PP levels(0, 40, 70, and 100 gram PP/Kg diet). Significant interactions were observed in body weight gain, FCR and production broiler index between PP and HS at 42 d. Heat stress decreased feed intake compare to control. The interaction between HS and PP significantly affects the concentration of uric acid, malondialdehyde, the enzyme activity of Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC; P < 0.05). The HS-birds had lower plasma protein, the enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD) compared to TN-birds. The abdominal fat and liver percentage were significantly affected by the interactions between HS and PP(P < 0.05). The PP diets reduced the plasma concentration of cholesterol and LDL compared to the control. It is concluded that HS shows reduced performance, total protein and antioxidant status of broilers, while PP at the levels higher than 7%, improves the performance, blood cholesterol, and antioxidant status of HS-birds.