Effect of in-ovo injection of metformin on blood parameters and AMPK gene expression in liver of pre- and post-hatch broilers

Abstract

Purpose : To investigate the effect of metformin in-ovo injection on blood parameters and adenosine monophhosphate-activeed protein kinase (AMPK) gene expression in the liver of pre- and post-hatch broilers. Methods : A total of 300 fertilized broiler breeders’ eggs (Ross 308) were selected for injection of metformin. There were four treatment levels and four replicates. Each replicate contained 15 eggs. Treatment involved injecting a solution without metformin (physiological serum), injecting one ml of 2 mg/l metformin, injecting one ml of 4 mg/l metformin and injecting one ml of 6 mg/l metformin. The first experiment was conducted on one-day-old chicks and the second experiment on 42-day-old chicks. Blood parameters, including glucose, cholesterol, LDL (low density lipoprotein), HDL (high density lipoprotein) and VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) were examined in both the experiments. Gene expression was also tested separately. Results : In the test on 1-day old chicks, the results of the effect of metformin on AMPK gene expression indicate that the treatment caused significantly modified the latter (p 0.05). Conclusion : Metformin injection into one-day-old chicks activates lipid metabolism in the yolk sac of the embryo, resulting in the lipid depletion. However, there was no significant effect on AMPK gene expression and blood parameters in 42-day-old chicken due to the long interval between metformin injection (42 days). Keywords : Metformin, AMPK gene expression, in-ovo injection, Broiler