The Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Vitamin C and E on the Growth Performance and the Stress Response in Broiler Chickens

• Published in: Korean journal of poultry science Vol. 40; no. 1
• Main Authors: Sohn, S.H., Gyeongnam National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea, Cho, E.J., Gyeongnam National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea, Jang, I.S., Gyeongnam National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea, Moon, Y.S., Gyeongnam National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 01.03.2013
• Subjects: ACIDE ASCORBIQUE; ACIDO ASCORBICO; ASCORBIC ACID; ESTRES; growth performance,broiler; STRESS; VITAMIN E; VITAMINA E; VITAMINE E
• ISSN: 1225-6625

This study was performed to investigate the investigated effects of dietary supplementation of vitamin C and E on the growth performance and stress response in broiler chickens. Stress response was analyzed by the quantity of telomeric DNA, the rate of DNA damage and the expression levels of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and hydroxyl-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) genes on tissues and blood. The telomere length and telomere shortening rates were analyzed by quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization on the nuclei of lymphocytes and tissues. The DNA damage rate of lymphocytes was quantified by the comet assay. The expression levels of HSP70, HSP90s and HMGCR genes were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in lymphocytes. In results, there was no significant difference among treatments in body weight, weight gain, feed intake and mortality. The telomere shortening rate of the lymphocytes was significantly lower in the vitamin E supplemented group than the control group. The DNA damage was also decreased supplemented with vitamin C and E, as compared to the control group. The vitamin E supplemented group had a significant positive effect on the expressions of HMGCR, HSP90-α and HSP90-βin lymphocytes, but had no significance on HSP70, as compared to the control group. We concluded that the dietary supplementation of vitamin E (100 mg/kg feed) had reduced the individual physiological stress response without stunt growth in broiler chickens.