Hepatic Metabolism of some Breeds of Chickens

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the differences in liver metabolism of some chicken breeds had different levels of domestication and production types. Hepatic oxygen consumption (HOC), liver weight percentage, liver glycogen, liver fat and Plasma lipids profiles of 180 birds of Dandarawi (D), Lohmann selected leghorn (L.S.L) and Cobb500 chicks were assayed. The experiment was terminated at 8 weeks of age. Breed had significant effect on hepatic oxygen consumption, liver weight percentage, liver glycogen, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The Dandarawi had significantly (P≤0.05) higher HOC and liver glycogen compared to L.S.L and Cobb500 chicks. Meanwhile, the Cobb500 chicks had significantly (P≤0.05) lower liver weight percentage and had significantly (P≤0.05) higher total cholesterol and HDL compared to D and L.S.L chicks. The effect of sex was also noticed in liver weight percentage, the female had significantly (P≤0.05) higher liver weight when compared to male chicks. The effect of interactions between breed and sex was also noticed in liver fat, the male Cobb500 had significantly (P≤0.05) higher liver fat when compared to female Cobb500, male and female D and L.S.L. chicks. It can be concluded that domestication and intensive selection for growth rate and egg production has resulted in alterations in hepatic metabolism, liver glycogen, and, fat and plasma lipids profiles.