Effect of TEX-OE® treatment on the development of heat shock proteins in commercial broiler chicks and the impact on performance indicators in the grow-out period

• Published in: British poultry science Vol. 55; no. 5; pp. 592 - 597
• Main Authors: Parker, C. D, Prins, C, Saliba, C, Gutierrez, G, Serrar, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 03.09.2014
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Newborn - growth & development; Animals, Newborn - metabolism; body weight; broiler chickens; Chickens - growth & development; Chickens - metabolism; chicks; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary; field experimentation; Fruit - chemistry; fruit extracts; heat shock proteins; Heat-Shock Proteins - metabolism; mortality; Opuntia - chemistry; Opuntia ficus-indica; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Random Allocation
• ISSN: 1466-1799; 0007-1668; 1466-1799
• DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2014.956287

1. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are highly conserved proteins, shown to protect organisms against physical and physiological stress. 2. TEX-OE ® is a patented total extract of the fruit of Opuntia ficus indica , which has been demonstrated to accelerate the development of HSPs in several animal species. 3. One-day-old commercial broiler chicks were treated with TEX-OE ®; HSP was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and a large commercial field trial investigated key performance indicators (KPIs) in treated versus untreated controls chicks. 4. TEX-OE ® significantly increased HSP concentrations in treated chicks versus controls. Final cumulative mortality, liveweight and percentage factory-rejects were better than in controls. 5. The accelerated HSP response may enable chicks to cope with early stressors, which is reflected in improved KPIs.