1. An experiment was conducted to determine the possibility of stimulating sexual development at an early age in male and female broiler chickens by administration of apilarnil, a natural bee product, in the pre-pubertal period. 2. From 28 to 55 d of age, birds were given apilarnil orally. The effects of low (2.5 g/bird) and high (7.5 g/bird) doses of apilarnil on growth performance, testicular weight, secondary sexual characteristics, blood lipids, testosterone and fearful behaviour were evaluated. 3. Apilarnil administration did not cause a positive effect on growth performance of male and female broilers suggesting that apilarnil did not have an anabolic effect. 4. Apilarnil administration suppressed blood glucose and cholesterol. 5. Birds receiving apilarnil remained immobile for a shorter period in a tonic imobiliy test and showed less home-cage avoidance responses suggesting a lower level of fearfulness. 6. Increases in testicular weight, testosterone concentration and comb growth in males receiving apilarnil implied that it stimulates the sexual maturation at an early age. However, a similar stimulation of secondary sexual characteristics was not observed in females.
________________________________________________________________________________ AbstractThe present study was conducted so that the possible effects of thermally-oxidised dietary oil and vitamin E supplementation could be determined on the performance, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant defence system and some blood and meat quality traits of broilers. Broilers were fed grower diets containing fresh or oxidised oil, supplemented with and without vitamin E (200 mg/kg) from four to six weeks of age. Neither oxidised dietary oil nor vitamin E supplementation had any adverse effect on weight gain, feed consumption or feed conversion ratio. However, the broilers that received oxidised oil had lower levels of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride compared to the control. The glucose level was neither influenced by oxidised oil nor by vitamin E supplementation. The plasma malondialdehyde level increased slightly in broilers fed oxidised oil, indicating increased lipid peroxidation. Higher glutathione peroxidise (GSH-P x ) activity observed in the broilers fed oxidised oil suggests greater oxidative stress. Vitamin E supplementation partly depressed GSH-P x activity in broilers fed oxidised oil. This depression in enzyme activity might be the result of homeostatic compensation. The uric acid concentration was not affected by oxidised oil and vitamin E supplementation. Feeding oxidised oil did not cause a marked discolouration in breast meat. Vitamin E supplementation had some beneficial effects on colour measurements.
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