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Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Copper oxide Nanoparticles in chickens

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Abstract

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) are consciously used to control the growth of bacteria, fungi, and algae. Several studies documented the beneficial and hazardous effects of CuO-NPs on human cells and different experimental animals but there are not many studies that report the effect of CuO-NPs in poultry. Therefore, the present study was performed to investigate the dose-dependent effects of copper oxide nanoparticles on the growth performance, immune status, oxidant/antioxidant capacity, DNA status, and histological structures of most edible parts of broiler chickens (muscle, heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys). The experiment was carried out on 90 1-day-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) which were divided into three experimental groups (n = 30) in three replicates (n = 10). Group 1 was kept as a control group and did not receive copper oxide nanoparticles. Groups 2 and 3 received CuO-NPs by oral gavage at dose 5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg bwt respectively at 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days of the life of the chickens. An increase in the amount of feed intake and weight was recorded every week, and finally, the food conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. Our results showed dose-dependent increases in malondialdehyde levels, copper contents, DNA fragmentation percent, and microscopic scoring in different examined organs of CuO-NPs-receiving groups associated with a remarkable reduction in weight gain, food conversion ratio, catalase activity, and antibody titer of both New Castle and Avian Influenza viruses. Histopathological alterations were observed in both groups receiving CuO-NPs with some variations in its severity. Our study concluded that CuO-NPs are considered cytotoxic and we recommend not adding them to poultry feed.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all individuals who participated in the current study.

Funding

This work was supported by the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Poultry Diseases Department, Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Eman A. Morsy

  2. Toxicology & Forensic Medicine Department, Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Ahmed M. Hussien

  3. Biochemistry Department, Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Marwa A. Ibrahim

  4. Nanotechnology Department, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt

    Khaled Y. Farroh

  5. Pathology Department, Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Eman I. Hassanen

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  1. Eman A. Morsy
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  2. Ahmed M. Hussien
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  3. Marwa A. Ibrahim
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  4. Khaled Y. Farroh
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  5. Eman I. Hassanen
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Contributions

E.I.H. and E.A.M. conceived the study and designed the experiment; A.M.H. and E.I.H. reviewed all the results, carried out data analysis and drafted the manuscript. E.I.H. performed the pathological studies; E.A.M. performed HI test; A.M.H. assessed oxidative stress evaluations; M.A.I. performed the molecular assay and K.Y.F. prepared and characterized CuO-NPs. All authors wrote, read, revised, and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marwa A. Ibrahim.

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Morsy, E.A., Hussien, A.M., Ibrahim, M.A. et al. Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Copper oxide Nanoparticles in chickens. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 4731–4745 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02595-4

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