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Second Edition of Stress Management in Poultry

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A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2024 | Viewed by 7653

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Prof. Dr. Guillermo Tellez-Isaias

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Guest Editor

Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Interests: feed additives; nutritional physiology; microbiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Brittany Danielle M. Graham

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Co-Guest Editor

Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Interests: gut health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Inflammation, regardless of its cause or nature, is the body’s response to cellular injury and the final stage of the stress process (biological, environmental, nutritional, physical, chemical, or psychological). Stress and inflammation are nonspecific defense mechanisms (innate responses) involving hormones, neuropeptides, immune cells, and molecular mediators essential for the survival and healing processes in all living organisms. During a stressful situation, the autonomic nervous system, and the endocrine hormones (adrenaline and glucocorticoids), prepare every single cell in the body for either “fight or flight”. If the stressful signal persists, the animal remains in “survival mode”, a biological process intended to be short and acute. Nevertheless, if the stress continues, stress hormones and other pro-inflammatory molecules remain in circulation, keeping the animal in a chronic state of survival, oxidative stress, chronic systemic inflammation, and in the process oxidative stress damages cell and mitochondria membranes (lipid peroxidation), compromising cell physiology in all tissues and organs. For these reasons, chronic stress and inflammation are identified as “secret killers”.

Areas of interest: nutrition; physiology; welfare; endocrinology; poultry production and management; gut health; pathology; microbiology; immunology.

We invite you to share your recent findings through this Special Issue.

Dr. Guillermo Tellez-Isaias
Dr. Brittany Danielle M. Graham
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

poultry
stress
inflammation
oxidative stress
welfare

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dietary Peppermint Extract Inhibits Chronic Heat Stress-Induced Activation of Innate Immunity and Inflammatory Response in the Spleen of Broiler Chickens

by Dandan Ma, Minhong Zhang and Jinghai Feng

Animals 2024, 14(8), 1157; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14081157 - 11 Apr 2024

Viewed by 332

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary peppermint extract (PE) on innate immunity and inflammatory responses in the spleen of broiler chickens under chronic heat stress. In order to further study the mechanism of the activation of innate immunity and inflammation induced by chronic heat stress and the regulatory effect of peppermint extract, we examined the spleen’s histological change, the mRNA expression of major pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) (TLR2, TLR4, NOD1, MDA5 and DAI) and transcription factors (NF-κB, AP-1 and IRF3) and downstream inflammatory cytokines (IFN-α, IFN-β, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) of innate immune signaling pathways associated with heat stress in the spleen of broiler chickens. The results indicated that chronic heat stress damaged the spleen tissue. In addition, chronic heat stress induced the activation of innate immunity and inflammatory responses by increasing the mRNA expression of TLR2, TLR4 and DAI, mRNA expression of transcriptional factors (NF-κB, AP-1 and IRF3) and the concentration of downstream inflammatory cytokines in the spleen of broiler chickens. Dietary peppermint extract alleviated the damage of spleen tissue caused by chronic heat stress. In addition, peppermint extract reduced the mRNA expression of DAI, mRNA expression of transcriptional factors NF-κB, AP-1 and IRF3, and the concentration of inflammatory cytokines in the spleen of broiler chickens under chronic heat stress. In conclusion, dietary peppermint extract could have a beneficial effect on regulating inflammatory response and innate immunity via inhibiting the activation of NF-κB, AP-1 and IRF3 signaling pathways mediated by DAI in the spleen of broiler chickens induced by chronic heat stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Second Edition of Stress Management in Poultry)

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12 pages, 815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dietary Hydroxytyrosol Supplementation on Growth Performance, Gut Morphometry, and Oxidative and Inflammatory Status in LPS-Challenged Broilers

by Kelly M. M. Dias, Carlos H. Oliveira, Arele A. Calderano, Horacio S. Rostagno, Kaique M. Gomes, Kevin E. O’Connor, Reeta Davis, Meg Walsh, James Britton, Enrico A. Altieri and Luiz F. T. Albino

Animals 2024, 14(6), 871; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14060871 - 12 Mar 2024

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Abstract

This study assessed the effects of hydroxytyrosol (HT) on 8- to 20-day-old broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS); 180 Cobb500™ male chicks were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups, each comprising 10 replicates with 6 birds per replicate. Treatments included a control diet (CON), CON with LPS administration, and CON + LPS supplemented with 10 mg of HT/kg of feed. LPS was administered intraperitoneally on days 14, 16, 18, and 20. Body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured. On day 20, ten birds per treatment were slaughtered for analysis. Bursa, spleen, and liver were collected, and their respective relative weight was determined. The jejunum was destined for morphological analyses of villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD), and their ratio (VH:CD), and for mRNA expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and interleukins 10 (IL-10), 1 beta (IL-1β), and 8 (IL-8). HT improved BW, BWG, and FCR, and reduced crypt depth (CD) while increasing the VH:CD ratio in the jejunum. Moreover, HT downregulated mRNA expression of CAT, GPx, IL-10, and IL-1β. In conclusion, HT enhances broiler growth performance, mitigates jejunal mucosa damage from LPS, and modulates antioxidant and immune responses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Second Edition of Stress Management in Poultry)

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23 pages, 5249 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Phytase Supplementation on Meat Quality of Heat-Stressed Broilers

by Clay J. Maynard, Craig W. Maynard, Garrett J. Mullenix, Alison Ramser, Elizabeth S. Greene, Mike R. Bedford and Sami Dridi

Animals 2023, 13(12), 2043; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13122043 - 20 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1502

Abstract

Heat stress (HS) is one of the most challenging stressors to poultry production sustainability. The adverse effects of HS range from feed intake and growth depression to alteration of meat quality and safety. As phytase supplementation is known to improve nutrient utilization and consequently growth, we undertook the present study to evaluate the effects of dietary phytase on growth and meat quality in heat-stressed broilers. A total of 720 day-old hatch Cobb 500 chicks were assigned to 24 pens within controlled environmental chambers and fed three diets: Negative Control (NC), Positive Control (PC), and NC diet supplemented with 2000 phytase units (FTU)/kg) of quantum blue (QB). On day 29, birds were exposed to two environmental conditions: thermoneutral (TN, 25 °C) or cyclic heat stress (HS, 35 °C, 8 h/d from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in a 3 × 2 factorial design. Feed intake (FI), water consumption (WI), body weight (BW), and mortality were recorded. On day 42, birds were processed, carcass parts were weighed, and meat quality was assessed. Breast tissues were collected for determining the expression of target genes by real-time quantitative PCR using the 2^−ΔΔCt method. HS significantly increased core body temperature, reduced feed intake and BW, increased water intake (WI), elevated blood parameters (pH, SO₂, and iCa), and decreased blood pCO₂. HS reduced the incidence of woody breast (WB) and white striping (WS), significantly decreased drip loss, and increased both 4- and 24-h postmortem pH. Instrumental L* and b* values were reduced (p < 0.05) by the environmental temperature at both 4- and 24-h postmortem. QB supplementation reduced birds’ core body temperature induced by HS and improved the FCR and water conversion ratio (WCR) by 1- and 0.5-point, respectively, compared to PC under HS. QB increased blood SO₂ and reduced the severity of WB and WS under TN conditions, but it increased it under an HS environment. The abovementioned effects were probably mediated through the modulation of monocarboxylate transporter 1, heat shock protein 70, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and/or glutathione peroxidase 1 gene expression, however, further mechanistic studies are warranted. In summary, QB supplementation improved growth performance and reduced muscle myopathy incidence under TN conditions. Under HS conditions, however, QB improved growth performance but increased the incidence of muscle myopathies. Therefore, further QB titration studies are needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Second Edition of Stress Management in Poultry)

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14 pages, 299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dietary Corn Silk (Stigma maydis) Extract Supplementation Modulate Production Performance, Immune Response and Redox Balance in Corticosterone-Induced Oxidative Stress Broilers

by Farid S. Nassar, Abdulaziz M. Alsahlawi, Hasan A. E. Abdellatif, Nancy N. Kamel and Ahmed O. Abbas

Animals 2023, 13(3), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030441 - 28 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2526

Abstract

Immunosuppression is a serious consequence of oxidative stress exposure that negatively affects the productivity and profitability of birds, as well as their well-being. Thus, the present investigation was designed to evaluate the potential of corn silk extract (CSE) supplementation to overcome the negative impacts of oxidative stress induced by corticosterone administration (CORT) in broiler chickens. A total of 280 one day old Cobb 500 male chicks were divided into four groups in 2 × 2 factorial arrangements. The experimental groups included CSE supplementation (0 or 500 mg/kg diet, from 20 to 35 days of age) and CORT administration (0 or 25 mg/kg diet, from 22 to 35 days of age) as independent factors. At the end of week five of age, production performance parameters were measured. The humoral and cell-mediated immune response parameters, redox status, and stress markers were determined. Data revealed deleterious effects of CORT administration on the broilers’ body weight, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio. Moreover, an exponential increase in stress marker levels, in addition to immunosuppression and redox imbalance, were associated with CORT administration. However, CSE supplementation, with its high total phenols content, partially alleviated the negative impacts of CORT administration, as shown by a significant improvement in immune response parameters and antioxidant activity, as well as a reduction in stress marker levels. Furthermore, CSE supplementation to non-stressed birds even significantly improved total antioxidant activity, total white blood cells (TWBCs) count, T-lymphocyte stimulating index, and wattle thickness. It can be concluded that, under stress conditions in commercial broiler farms, dietary CSE supplementation can strongly be recommended to modulate the negative impacts of stress. Therefore, CSE can be used as an effective immunomodulator and antioxidant agent to increase commercial broiler farm productivity and profitability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Second Edition of Stress Management in Poultry)

12 pages, 288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Dietary Spirulina platensisis on Physiological Responses of Broiler Chickens Exposed to Endotoxin Stress

by Abdulaziz A. Alaqil and Ahmed O. Abbas

Animals 2023, 13(3), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030363 - 20 Jan 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1905

Abstract

This study was proposed to highlight the impact of dietary Spirulina platensis (SP) supplementation in alleviating the deterioration effect of Escherichia coli (EC) on the growth performance, redox biomarkers, immune reaction, and hindgut microbial counts and acidosis in broiler chickens. Four hundred Cobb500, one-day-old, broiler chickens were deposited in battery cages (10 chicks per cage). The chicks were distributed into totally randomized 2 × 2 factorial treatments (10 replicate cages per treatment) from the day 22 to the day 42 of age. Birds of two of the groups were fed on a basal diet without SP supplementation (-SP groups), while birds of the other two groups were fed on a basal diet supplemented with 10 g/kg SP (+SP groups). At day 36th of age, birds in one of the -SP and +SP groups were challenged by an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection with 10⁷ CFU/bird EC (O157:H7 strain) in 0.5 mL sterilized saline (+EC groups), whereas the other non-challenged groups were i.p. injected with 0.5 mL saline only (-EC groups). The current study results indicated that the boilers challenged with EC had a significant (p < 0.05) lower performance, poor antioxidant activity, immunosuppression, and higher numbers of pathogenic bacteria in the intestine when compared with the non-challenged birds. Dietary SP inclusion enhanced (p < 0.05) broiler growth, antioxidant activity, immune response, and intestinal beneficial bacteria and acidosis. Moreover, SP alleviated the reduction in all these parameters after exposure to EC infection. Therefore, diets containing 10 g/kg SP could be used as a promising approach to maximize broilers’ production and support their health, particularly when challenged with EC infection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Second Edition of Stress Management in Poultry)

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