Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T16:27:28.963Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Improved performance and immunological responses as the result of dietary genistein supplementation of broiler chicks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2015

E. Rasouli
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran
R. Jahanian*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran
*
Get access

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of supplemental genistein (an isoflavonoid) on performance, lymphoid organs’ development, and cellular and humoral immune responses in broiler chicks. A total of 675-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to the five replicate pens (15 chicks each) of nine experimental diets. Dietary treatments included a negative (not-supplemented) control diet, two positive control groups (virginiamycin or zinc-bacitracin, 20 mg/kg), and diets containing 10, 20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 mg/kg of genistein. The cutaneous basophil hypersensivity (CBH) test was measured at day 10 of age after toe web injection with phytohemagglutinin-P. In addition, sera samples were collected after different antigen inoculations to investigate antibody responses. At day 28 of age, three randomly selected birds from each pen were euthanized to evaluate the relative weights of lymphoid organs. Results showed that dietary supplementation of both antibiotics increased (P<0.01) feed intake during 1 to 42 days of age. Furthermore, daily weight gain was influenced (P<0.01) by dietary treatments throughout the trial, so that the birds fed on antibiotics and 20 to 80 mg/kg genistein diets revealed the greater weight gains compared with other experimental groups. The best (P<0.05) feed conversion ratio assigned to the birds fed on diets containing antibiotics and moderate levels (40 to 80 mg/kg) of genistein. Although the relative weights of thymus (P<0.05) and bursa of Fabricius (P<0.01) were greater in birds fed on genistein-supplemented diets compared with antibiotics-supplemented birds, the spleen weight was not affected by experimental diets. Similarly, CBH response and antibody titers against Newcastle and infectious bronchitis disease viruses were markedly (P<0.05) greater in chicks fed on diets supplemented with 20 to 80 mg/kg of genistein. Interestingly, the higher dosages of genistein suppressed CBH and antibody responses to the levels seen by control and antibiotics chicks. Dietary inclusion of genistein increased (P<0.05) lymphocytes and subsequently reduced (P<0.01) heterophil to lymphocyte ratio. The present findings indicate that dietary genistein supplementation at the levels of 20 to 80 mg/kg not only improves growth performance, but also could beneficially affect immunological responses in broiler chicks.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arora, A, Nair, MG and Strasburg, GM 1998. Structure-activity relationships for antioxidant activities of a series of flavonoids in a liposomal system. Free Radical Biology and Medicine 24, 13551363.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists 2002. Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International, 17th edition. AOAC, Gaithersburg, MD and Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Bankova, VS, De Castro, SL and Marcucci, MC 2000. Propolis: recent advances in chemistry and plant origin. Apidologie 31, 315.Google Scholar
Buchanan, NP, Hott, JM, Cutlip, SE, Rack, AL, Asamer, A and Moritz, JS 2008. The effects of a natural antibiotic alternative and a natural growth promoter feed additive on broiler performance and carcass quality. Journal of Applied Poultry Research 17, 202210.Google Scholar
Carrão-Panizzi, MC, Favoni, SPG and Kikuchi, A 2002. Extraction time for soybean isoflavone determination. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology 45, 515518.Google Scholar
Corrier, DE and DeLoach, JR 1990. Evaluation of cell-mediated, cutaneous basophil hypersensivity in young chickens by an interdigital skin test. Poultry Science 69, 403408.Google Scholar
Duncan, DB 1955. Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics 11, 142.Google Scholar
Gao, F, Zhou, GH and Han, ZK 2000. Effects of daidzein on male chicken performance and systemic immune functions. Journal of Chinese Poultry Science 22, 89.Google Scholar
Harborne, JB and Baxter, H 1999. The handbook of natural flavonoids. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK.Google Scholar
Harborne, JB and Williams, CA 2000. Advances in flavonoid research since 1992: review. Phytochemistry 55, 481504.Google Scholar
Havsteen, BH 2002. The biochemistry and medical significance of the flavonoids. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 96, 67202.Google Scholar
Iqbal, MF, Luo, Y-H, Hashim, MM and Zhu, W-Y 2014. Evaluation of genistein mediated growth, metabolic and anti-inflammatory responses in broilers. Pakistan Journal of Zoology 46, 317327.Google Scholar
Jahanian, R 2009. Immunological responses as affected by dietary protein and arginine concentrations in starting broiler chicks. Poultry Science 88, 18181824.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jiang, ZY, Jiang, SQ, Lin, YC, Xi, PB, Yu, DQ and Wu, TX 2007. Effects of soybean isoflavone on growth performance, meat quality and antioxidation in male broilers. Poultry Science 86, 13561362.Google Scholar
Kamboh, AA and Zhu, W-Y 2014. Individual and combined effects of genistein and hesperidin on immunity and intestinal morphometry in lipopolysaccharide-challenged broiler chickens. Poultry Science 93, 21752183.Google Scholar
Kamboh, AA, Hang, SQ, Bakhetgul, M and Zhu, W-Y 2013. Effects of genistein and hesperidin on biomarkers of heat stress in broilers under persistent summer stress. Poultry Science 92, 24112418.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kidd, MT, Peebles, ED, Whitmarsh, SK, Yeatman, JB and Wideman, RF Jr 2001. Growth and immunity of broiler chicks as affected by dietary arginine. Poultry Science 80, 15351542.Google Scholar
Kosalec, I, Pepeljnjak, S, Bakmaz, M and Vladimir-Knežević, S 2005. Flavonoid analysis and antimicrobial activity of commercially available propolis products. Acta Pharmcologica Sinica 55, 423430.Google Scholar
Kuiper, GG, Lemmen, JG, Carlsson, B, Corton, JC, Safe, SH, van der Saag, PT and Gustafsson, JA 1998. Interaction of estrogenic chemicals and phytoestrogens with estrogen receptor beta. Endocrinology 139, 42524263.Google Scholar
Lepage, KT, Bloom, SE and Taylor, RL Jr 1996. Antibody response to sheep red blood cells in a major histocompatibility (B) complex aneuploid line of chickens. Poultry Science 75, 346350.Google Scholar
Lucas, AM and Jamroz, C 1961. Atlas of avian hematology (Agriculture Monograph, 25). USDA Publishing, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Middleton, E, Kandaswami, C and Theoharidesi, T 2000. The effects of plant flavonoids on mammalian cells: implications for inflammation, heart disease, and cancer. Pharmacological Reviews 52, 673751.Google Scholar
National Research Council 1994. Nutrient requirements of poultry, 9th revised edition. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Payne, RL, Bidner, TD, Southern, LL and McMillin, KW 2001. Dietary effects of soy isoflavones on growth and carcass traits of commercial broilers. Poultry Science 80, 12011207.Google Scholar
Phillips, I, Caswell, M, Cox, T, Groot, B, Friss, C, Jones, R, Nightingale, C, Preston, R and Waddell, J 2004. Does the use of antibiotics in food animals pose a risk to human health? A critical review of published data. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 53, 2852.Google Scholar
Rasouli, E and Jahanian, R 2011. Effect of soy isoflavone genistein on lymphoid organs weight and immunocompetence of broiler chickens. 18th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition, 31 October–4 November, Çeşme, Izmir, Turkey, pp. 450–452.Google Scholar
Ricke, SC, Kundinger, MM, Miller, DR and Keeton, JT 2005. Alternatives to antibiotics: chemical and physical antimicrobial interventions and foodborne pathogen response. Poultry Science 84, 667675.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rink, L and Kirchner, H 2000. Zinc-altered immune function and cytokine production. Journal of Nutrition 130, 1407S1411S.Google Scholar
Ross, JA and Kasum, CM 2002. Dietary flavonoids: bioavailability, metabolic effects, and safety. Annual Review of Nutrition 22, 1934.Google Scholar
SAS Institute 1999. SAS statistics user’s guide, 5th revised edition. Statistical Analytical System, Cary, NC and Raleigh, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Setchell, KDR 1998. Phytoestrogens: the biochemistry, physiology, and implications for human health of soy isoflavones. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 68 (suppl.), 1333S1346S.Google Scholar
Seven, PT 2008. The effects of dietary Turkish propolis and vitamin C on performance, digestibility, egg production and egg quality in laying hens under different environmental temperatures. Asian-Australian Journal of Animal Sciences 21, 11641170.Google Scholar
Stahl, S, Chun, TY and Gray, WG 1998. Phytoestrogens act as estrogen agonists in an estrogen-responsive pituitary cell line. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 152, 4148.Google Scholar
Tellez, G, Higgins, SE, Donoghue, AM and Hargis, BM 2006. Digestive physiology and the role of microorganisms. Journal of Applied Poultry Research 15, 136144.Google Scholar
Trevillyan, JM, Lu, Y, Atluru, D, Phillips, CA and Bjorndahl, JM 1990. Differential inhibition of T cell receptor signal transduction and early activation events by a selective inhibitor of protein-tyrosine kinase. Journal of Immunology 145, 32233230.Google Scholar
Verhasselt, V, Berghe, WV, Vanderheyde, N, Willems, F, Haegeman, G and Goldman, M 1999. N-Acetyl-L-cysteine inhibits primary T-cell responses at the dendritic cell level: association with NFkB inhibition. Journal of Immunology 162, 25692574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenk, C 2000. Recent advances in animal feed additives such as metabolic modifiers, antimicrobial agents, probiotics, enzymes and highly available minerals. Review. Asian-Australian Journal of Animal Sciences 13, 8695.Google Scholar
Whittow, GC 2000. Sturkie’s avian physiology, 5th edition. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, USA.Google Scholar
Willcox, JK, Ash, SL and Catignani, GL 2004. Antioxidants and prevention of chronic disease. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 44, 275295.Google Scholar
Zeng, H, Chen, Q and Zhao, B 2004. Genistein ameliorates beta-amyloid peptide (25-35)-induced hippocampal neuronal apoptosis. Free Radical Biology and Medicine 36, 180188.Google Scholar
Zhang, R, Li, Y and Wang, W 1997. Enhancement of immune function in mice fed high doses of soy daidzein. Nutrition and Cancer 29, 2428.Google Scholar