Abstract
ABSTRACTThis study was conducted to evaluate the effect of zinc-methionine (ZnM) on growth performance, nutrient utilization, antioxidant status and immune response in broiler chickens reared at high ambient temperature. A total of 480 one-day-old chicks were randomly distributed into 24 floor pens (20 chicks/pen) and were given either a control diet, 0 ZnM (G0) or 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg ZnM (G1, G2 and G3, respectively). The growth performance was significantly affected by the treatments, ZnM supplementation increased body weight gain and improved feed conversion (p < .05) in broilers. Protein utilization was improved by feeding ZnM (p < .05). Plasma total cholesterol was decreased, while plasma HDL-cholesterol was tending to be increased. Interestingly, an increase in ZnM supplementation enhanced Zn concentrations (p < .05) in breast muscle along with a reduction in malondialdehyde concentration and saturated fatty acids (p < .05) and an augmentation in unsaturated fatty acids (p < .01). Dietary ZnM supplementation resulted in a significant increase in serum glutathione peroxidase concentration which accompanied with an improving in humoral immune response. It could be concluded that dietary organic Zn supplementation improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility, Zn content in raw meat, antioxidative properties and humoral immunity and reduced meat lipid peroxidation in broilers under high ambient temperature.
Highlights
In majority of tropical countries, heat stress is one of the most important stressors negatively affecting poultry industry leading to a great economic loss each year
Zinc is a fundamental element required for normal growth performance, bone development, feathering, skin quality, immunity, appetite regulation and structure and function of more than 300 enzymes associated with carbohydrate and energy metabolism, protein degradation and synthesis, nucleic acid synthesis, carbon dioxide transport and many other reactions (Prasad and Kucuk 2002; Sahin et al 2009; Salim et al 2011)
The objective of the present study was to inspect the effects of ZnM on growth performance, nutrient utilization, antioxidant status and immune response in broilers reared at high ambient temperature
Summary
In majority of tropical countries, heat stress is one of the most important stressors negatively affecting poultry industry leading to a great economic loss each year. Dietary zinc (Zn) supplementation has been reported to have a positive effect on the growth rate and feed efficiency of growing poultry under stress conditions (Sahin et al 2005; Rao et al 2016). Zinc is a fundamental element required for normal growth performance, bone development, feathering, skin quality, immunity, appetite regulation and structure and function of more than 300 enzymes associated with carbohydrate and energy metabolism, protein degradation and synthesis, nucleic acid synthesis, carbon dioxide transport and many other reactions (Prasad and Kucuk 2002; Sahin et al 2009; Salim et al 2011)
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