Carcass Traits and Immune Response of Broiler Chickens Fed Dietary L-Carnitine, Coenzyme Q10 and Ractopamine

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine and ractopamine supplementation, alone and in combinations, on carcass traits and immune response of broiler chickens. Five hundred and twelve one-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens were randomly allocated into eight treatments with four replicates each. A 2×2×2 factorial arrangement was applied, with two levels of coenzyme Q10 (0 and 40 mg/kg), two levels of L-carnitine (0 and 200 mg/kg) and two levels of ractopamine (0 and 10 mg/kg). The birds were reared until day 42 of age under standard conditions. Blood samples were collected at the end of grower and finisher periods from the wing vein. Four birds per group were sacrificed at day 42 of age. Except for carcass yield, other carcass traits were not significantly affected (p>0.05) by different levels of coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine, or ractopamine. Immune response parameters were significantly (p<0.05) different between the treatments. The lowest antibody titers against Newcastle disease virus and relative spleen weight were observed in control group. The results of this study suggest that addition of coenzyme Q10 and L-carnitine to broiler diets has benefit effect on immune response of broiler chickens.