Ethanol extract of elecampane (Inula helenium L.) rhizome attenuates experimental cold-induced ascites (pulmonary hypertension syndrome) in broiler chickens

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the preventive effect of an ethanol extract of elecampane (Inula helenium L.) rhizome (EEER) on ascites in broiler chickens. A total of 900 1-day-old male chicks (Ross 308) were assigned to five treatment groups, each of which had six pens of 30 chicks per pen. The control birds were housed in a thermoneutral chamber and fed a basal diet, while the other four groups were reared in a cold chamber to induce ascites and fed the basal diet supplemented with either 0, 500, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg of EEER. Associated with cold treatment, there were decreases in feed intake, body weight, and body weight gain and an increase in ascites mortality (P < 0.05), which coincided with increased hematological values (erythrocytes count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit) and induction of right ventricle hypertrophy at 24 and 42 days of age (P < 0.05). These adverse effects of the cold ambient condition could be linearly decreased by increasing the EEER content in the diet (P < 0.05), but they did not normalize to the control levels (P < 0.05). Also, at both 24 and 42 days of age, the cold-treated birds revealed an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in plasma and tissues (heart, liver, and lungs) that accompanied with a noticeable decline in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and an increase in plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities (P < 0.05). These changes paralleled a decrease in plasma nitric oxide (NO) levels (P < 0.05). Treatment with graded increments of EEER showed a linear decrease in MDA levels and linearly increased SOD and GPx activities (P < 0.05). However, it failed to restore the oxidative status of the heart and lungs towards close the control levels (P < 0.05), and this was also the case for ALT and AST activities and NO levels. In conclusion, EEER appears to be a useful dietary agent for attenuating the progression of cold-induced ascites in broiler chickens.