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The effect of vitamin E, l-carnitine, and ginger on production traits, immune response, and antioxidant status in two broiler strains exposed to chronic heat stress

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Abstract

The present study was designed to find the effect of natural and synthetic antioxidants on the performance of two broiler strains under high ambient temperature. A total of 320 day-old chicks of Hubbard and Cobb were reared for a period for 21 days under the same nutritional and management systems. On day 21 onward, one subgroup was kept as control while other subgroups were provided with vitamin E (250 mg/kg), ginger (2 g/kg), and l-carnitine (500 mg/kg) in basal diets. Body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly (P < 0.05) high in vitamin E-supplemented birds, while feed intake was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in l-carnitine supplemented birds irrespective of the strain. Antibody titer against infectious bursal disease (IBD) and paraoxonase (PON1) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in vitamin E-supplemented birds compared to the other treatments. The number of heterophils and toal oxidant status (TOS) were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in vitamin E-supplemented birds. Blood glucose was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in vitamin E-supplemented birds, while total protein was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in vitamin E-supplemented group. In conclusion, the supplementation of vitamin E at the rate of 250 mg/kg improved the antioxidant status and immune response in the two broiler strains. Further, the two strains perform similarly in terms of performance and other health status parameters with no significant difference.

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Funding information

The financial assistance of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is acknowledged as a part of PhD indigenous scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Zia ur Rehman & Naila Chand

  2. Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Rifat Ullah Khan

Authors
  1. Zia ur Rehman
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  2. Naila Chand
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  3. Rifat Ullah Khan
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Correspondence to Rifat Ullah Khan.

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This study was conducted in compliance with the Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Rehman, Z., Chand, N. & Khan, R.U. The effect of vitamin E, l-carnitine, and ginger on production traits, immune response, and antioxidant status in two broiler strains exposed to chronic heat stress. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 26851–26857 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0304-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0304-8

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