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Protective effects of silymarin in broiler feed contaminated by mycotoxins: growth performance, meat antioxidant status, and fatty acid profiles

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether the inclusion of silymarin in broiler feed was able to mitigate the adverse effects of mycotoxin on growth performance, health status, liver oxidative stress, and meat fatty acid profiles. A completely randomized design with four treatments, four repetitions, and 15 chicks per repetition was used, with the following groups: (a) feed without additives (NoMyc-NoSil), (b) feed supplemented with silymarin (NoMyc-Sil), (c) feed contaminated with mycotoxin (Myc-NoSil), and (d) feed contaminated with mycotoxin and supplemented with silymarin (Myc-Sil). Growth performance, intestinal and liver health, and meat quality were assessed. The consumption of feed contaminated with mycotoxin delayed weight gain and increased the feed conversion ratio; however, the addition of silymarin prevented these adverse effects on the chicken industry. Serum ALT activity was higher in Myc-NoSil broilers than in other groups. Intake of silymarin in healthy birds increased serum globulin concentration and reduced albumin concentration and ALT and AST serum activities compared to the Myc-NoSil group. The NoMyc-Sil birds had greater villus heights and crypt depths. Luminosity and water loss by cooking were affected by mycotoxin ingestion, changes that did not occur in the meat of birds that were supplemented with silymarin. The sum of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in the meat did not change among treatments, unlike the sum of polyunsaturated fatty acids higher in the meat of birds that consumed silymarin. We conclude that silymarin is a potential additive in broiler feed; it reduces impairment of growth performance at the end of the productive cycle, prevents oxidative stress, improves meat quality, and increases polyunsaturated fatty acids.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq and the Scientific and Technological Research Support Foundation of Santa Catarina State—FAPESC. The first author also received a CAPES master’s fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Animal Science, University of the State of Santa Catarina (UDESC), Chapecó, SC, Brazil

    Eduardo H. Armanini, Marcel M. Boiago, Bruno G. de Oliveira Cécere, Carlos J. S. Teixeira, João V. Strapazzon & Aleksandro S. Da Silva

  2. Department of Animal Science, UDESC, Chapecó, SC, Brazil

    Marcel M. Boiago, Paulo V. Oliveira & Aleksandro S. Da Silva

  3. Graduate Program in Toxicological Biochemistry, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil

    Nathieli B. Bottari, Anielen D. Silva & Mateus Fracasso

  4. Department of Food Science, UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil

    Raquel G. Vendruscolo & Roger Wagner

  5. Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil

    Eduardo M. Da Gloria

  6. Veterinary Pathology Laboratory, Instituto Federal Catarinense (IFC), SC, Concórdia, Brazil

    Vitor W. Horn & Ricardo E. Mendes

  7. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil

    Matheus D. Baldissera

  8. Unidade Universitária de Aquidauana, Universidade Estadual do Mato Grosso do Sul, Aquidauana, Brazil

    Marcelo Vedovatto

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  1. Eduardo H. Armanini
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  2. Marcel M. Boiago
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  3. Bruno G. de Oliveira Cécere
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  5. Carlos J. S. Teixeira
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Contributions

Armanini EH, Boiago MM, and Da Silva A.S. contributed to the design and implementation of the research to the analysis of the results. Wagner R, Gloria EM, Mendes RE, and Baldissera MD helped develop the project and its execution and financing. Cecere B, Oliveira PV, Teixeira CJS, and Strapazzon JV participated in the execution of the experiment and collection of the samples and data. Bottari NB, Silva AD, Fracasso M, Vendruscolo RG, Horn VW, and Vedovatto M did the laboratory analysis. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aleksandro S. Da Silva.

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At the State University of Santa Catarina, the ethics committee approved the project using animals in research, protocol number 7562021219. All names in the author list have been involved in various stages of experimentation or writing.

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Armanini, E.H., Boiago, M.M., Cécere, B.G.d. et al. Protective effects of silymarin in broiler feed contaminated by mycotoxins: growth performance, meat antioxidant status, and fatty acid profiles. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 442 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02873-2

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