Effect of β-Carotene, Canthaxanthin, Lutein, and Vitamin E on Neonatal Immunity of Chicks When Supplemented in the Broiler Breeder Diets

Abstract

The study was designed to assess neonatal immunity of chicks hatched from breeders fed diets supplemented with beta-carotene, canthaxanthin, lutein, or vitamin E. Broiler breeder birds were fed experimental diets consisting of control, 0.04% beta-carotene, 0.04% canthaxanthin, 0.04% lutein, 0.03% alpha-tocopherol acetate, or 0.04% beta-carotene plus 0.03% alpha-tocopherol acetate. Three weeks after initiation of experimental feeding, birds were vaccinated against Newcastle disease virus. Chicks hatched from the eggs of these breeders were used to determine the neonatal immune responses. There were no significant differences in weight gain and antibody titers of 3-wk-old chicks. 3H-Thymidine uptake by bursal lymphocytes when stimulated with tetrahydrofuran was significantly higher for the chicks hatched from breeders fed diets supplemented with vitamin E, or vitamin E plus beta-carotene, than in controls. 3H-Thymidine uptake by splenic lymphocytes when stimulated with concanavalin A and phorbol 12-myristate 13 acetate was significantly higher for the chicks hatched from breeders fed diets supplemented with vitamin E or beta-carotene alone, or vitamin E plus beta-carotene, than for the control chicks. Chicks hatched from hens supplemented with vitamin E had significantly higher antibody titers at 1 and 7 d of age than chicks from the control group. Vitamin E supplementation of breeder birds increased the immune response of their progeny.

The T–cell–mediated immune response and return rate of fledgling American kestrels are positively correlated with parental clutch size

“…Accordingly, female American kestrels with better pre-laying body condition lay larger eggs and that egg size correlates positively with clutch size (Wiebe & Bortolotti 1995). In other bird species, physiologically active compounds derived from maternal diets are known to be incorporated into their eggs and subsequently enhance the immunocompetence of neonates (Haq et al 1996;Pastoret et al 1998;Surai et al 1998;Royle et al 1999). In addition, as both clutch size (Stearns 1992) and immunocompetence (Pastoret et al 1998) have a genetic basis, these traits could covary through selection for good genes.…”

Antioxidants, radiation and mutation as revealed by sperm abnormality in barn swallows from Chernobyl

“…However, there was considerable variation among sites in the range of antioxidant concentrations recorded (figure 2), and some of this variation may be accounted for by the patchy distribution of high levels of radiation in the Chernobyl region, even on a micro-geographical scale (Shestopalov 1996). Such depression of dietary carotenoids deposited into yolk can increase the susceptibility of embryonic tissues to free-radical attack (Surai & Speake 1998), and reduce hatchling immune function (McWhinney et al 1989;Haq et al 1996). Avian embryos and hatchlings are particularly in need of antioxidants because their rapid metabolism incurs high rates of free-radical production, and their tissues are rich in unsaturated lipids that are particularly susceptible to free-radical attack (Surai et al 2001b).…”

Antioxidant protection, carotenoids and the costs of immune challenge in greenfinches

“…In this respect, our findings diverge from those of mammal studies (Jyonouchi et al, 1994;Kim et al, 2000a;Kim et al, 2000b), where lutein supplementation has been shown to enhance immunoglobulin (IgG) production and/or T-cell proliferation. In chickens, lutein supplementation affected PHA-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation (Selvaraj et al, 2006), whereas no effect of antibody production against KLH (Selvaraj et al, 2006) or Newcastle disease virus (Haq et al, 1996) was detected. In moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) chicks, canthaxanthin supplementation enhanced PHA-response (Fenoglio et al, 2002).…”