Blue-Green Algae (Spirulina platensis) Alleviates the Negative Impact of Heat Stress on Broiler Production Performance and Redox Status

Abstract

The modern broiler industry faces huge challenges to keep high production quality and quantity, especially under environmental heat stress conditions. The negative effect of heat stress on broiler productivity is mediated by oxidative stress induction. The blue-green alga (Spirulina platensis) has many applications in poultry nutrition with the high levels of bioactive antioxidant compounds, which can alleviate the oxidative stress damage induced by high ambient temperature. The current study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary Spirulina inclusion at different levels on growth performance, redox status, carcass traits, meat quality, blood hematology, and metabolites profile of broilers subjected to cyclic heat stress. A total of 300 one-day-old Cobb-500 broiler chicks were recruited. Starting from day 21 to 42 of age, birds were randomly divided into five treatment groups with 6 replicates × 10 birds per group, where the first one was provided with the basal diet and reared under normal thermal conditions (23 ± 1 °C) to serve as a negative control. Meanwhile, the other four groups were exposed to cyclic heat stress (34 ± 1 °C for 8 h per day) and were fed a basal diet supplemented with Spirulina at a concentration of 0, 0.5, 1 or 1.5%. Spirulina supplementation to heat-stressed broilers was able to alleviate the negative impacts of heat stress on the final average daily gain, body weight and feed conversion ratio, with the best impact observed among the chickens fed 1% Spirulina. Hematological results indicate increasing hemoglobin and hematocrit levels with Spirulina supplementation compared to the non-supplemented stressed group. Further, Spirulina supplementation significantly influenced blood lipid metabolites marked by reduced serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. The lipid peroxidation level was reduced (p < 0.05), while the antioxidant enzyme activity was increased with Spirulina supplementation to the heat-stressed group. Spirulina supplementation at 0.5 or 1% improved carcass dressing, breast and leg percentages. It can be concluded that dietary Spirulina supplementation at 0.5 or 1% to broiler reared under heat stress conditions can effectively improve broiler production performance and balance the redox status.

Potential ameliorative role of Spirulina platensis in powdered or extract forms against cyclic heat stress in broiler chickens

“…Abdominal fat (%) was not altered in all treated groups. These results agree with Moustafa et al ( 2021 ) and Hajati andZaghari ( 2019 ), who reported that dietary inclusion of S. platensis powder at 0.25, 0.5, and 1% improved carcass traits of broilers reared under hot and thermoneutral conditions. Moreover, Khan et al ( 2020a ) documented that 0.2% of dietary S. platensis increased dressing percentage but did not affect abdominal fat (%).…”

“…However, Sugiharto et al ( 2018 ) showed no detrimental effect of Spirulina on hepatic or renal function biomarkers. In contrast, Moustafa et al ( 2021 ) showed that dietary inclusion of Spirulina enhanced liver enzymes activity and renal biomarkers of heat-stressed broilers.…”

“…GPx and SOD represent the first defense line of the cellular antioxidant mechanism (Ighodaro and Akinloye, 2018 ), and MDA level indicates the degree of lipid peroxidation in the living cell (Mesalam et al 2021 ). The role of dietary supplementation of S. platensis to enhance these antioxidative biomarkers of heat-stressed birds has been reported (Abdel-Moneim et al 2021c ; Khan et al 2020b ; Mirzaie et al 2018 ; Moustafa et al 2021 ). The enhancement in the antioxidant capacity of heat-stressed chicks treated with S. platensis might be attributed to its content of antioxidant substances (e.g., phycocyanin, polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and β-Carotene) (Pestana et al 2020 ).…”

Effects of Dietary Macleaya cordata Extract on Growth Performance, Biochemical Indices, and Intestinal Microbiota of Yellow-Feathered Broilers Subjected to Chronic Heat Stress

“…HS has caused huge economic losses to the livestock industry [ 29 ]. Research shows that HS severely affects animal health and performance [ 30 ]. In our current research, the Final BW, ADFI, and ADG in the HS group were significantly lower than in the CON group, suggesting the harmful effects of HS on chickens.…”

Combined use of Spirulina platensis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Implication on growth, blood profile and intestinal morphology and bacteria of the Indonesian crossbred chickens

“…Among the algae, Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis contains high protein (55-70%) and amino acid that resembles soybean meal, and may therefore be a viable alternative protein source for chickens (Mullenix et al 2021a,b). In this case, S. platensis has been included in diets as a source of protein and exerted growth promoting effect on broiler chickens (Islam et al 2021;Moustafa et al 2021). Spirulina platensis also contains a variety of functional components such as vitamins, essential fatty acids, minerals, antioxidants and pigments, which are beneficial for the health conditions of chickens (Liestianty et al 2019;Islam et al 2021).…”