Influence of Supplemental Ascorbic Acid on Broiler Performance Following Exposure to High Environmental Temperature

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine if dietary ascorbic acid (AA) would improve growth, feed efficiency, and livability of broilers following an acute heating episode. Supplemental AA was provided in the diets at calculated levels of 0, 250, 500, and 1000 ppm, continuously. Females that received 1000 ppm exhibited significantly greater body weights at 2 and 4 weeks of age. No significant effects due to AA supplementation were observed in body weights of males. At 4 weeks of age, chicks were heated on two consecutive days by increasing the ambient temperature (38.3 C at bird level) in the production facility. Heating significantly reduced body weights in males, but not females, at 5 and 7 weeks of age. Feed conversions were increased after heating, but significant effects due to AA were not found. Ascorbic acid did not improve overall livability significantly in either sex, but heat-associated mortality was reduced in supplemented females.

Performance and Humoral Immune Response in Heat-Stressed Broilers Fed an Ascorbic Acid Supplemented Diet

“…No difference in the response of males or females was found in this study. These results are not in agreement with those of Pardue et al (1985a), who reported a significant growth response to AA in females but not males exposed to heat stress. However, these authors did not expose birds to continuous heat as in the present study.…”

“…These data obtained in a natural environment are difficult to compare with those obtained in an environmentally regulated room. Pardue et al (1985a) obtained a body weight of 1.833 kg in male broilers at seven weeks with 1000 ppm AA supplementation in the diet (compared with 1.810 kg for the control during the same period), but the average room temperature was only 29.2C and the chicks used for the study were Ross x Arbor Acres. Data in the literature on the beneficial effects of AA supplementation on broiler performance in a hot environment are inconsistent and are complicated by other factors such as breed, sex, age and diet.…”

Effects of graded levels of vitamin C supplemented feed of layers on serum concentrations of vitamin A and vitamin C

“…Vitamin C helps to protect phagocytic cells from oxidative damage (McDowell, 2006). Also, supplemental vitamin C could significantly reduce body temperature (Pardue et al, 1985;Orban et al, 1993). Ascorbic acid supplementation has been shown to have positive effect on mean egg production, egg weight and egg shell thickness (Khan and Sardar, 2005) and on albumen weight, egg length, yolk height and yolk weight (Fayeye et al, 2013) under elevated environmental temperature.…”

“…During stresses, either nutritional, environmental, or pathological, the inclusion of vitamin C in birds feed or drinking water appears to alleviate many of the undesirable physical consequences (Whitehead and Keller, 2003;Roussan et al, 2008). Several researchers reported improvement in egg production (Haazele et al, 1991;Fayeye et al, 2013), egg quality (Bell and Marion, 1990), albumen weight (Cheng et al, 1990;Fayeye et al, 2013), egg weight (Elboushy and Van Albada, 1970) and reduction in body temperature (Pardue et al, 1985;Orban et al, 1993) due to supplementing the layers diet with vitamin C under high environmental temperatures. There are reports that 200ppm vitamin C supplementation in feed of poultry raised under heat stress causes significant improvements in live performance, digestibility of nutrients and immune response of the birds (Sahin and Kucuk, 2001;Lohakare et al, 2005).…”

The Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Vitamin C or E on the Expressions of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Lipid and Glucose Metabolism Associated Genes in Broiler Chickens

“…사양시험동안 폐사 율 또한 처리구 간에 유의적 차이가 없었다. 고온과 같은 환 경적 스트레스나 감염 등에 노출된 산란계의 경우, 비타민 E 의 첨가가 산란능력과 난질의 개선 효과 (Niu et al, 2009;Gao et al, 2010)를 보이며, 육용종계의 산란율 및 번식성적 개선 에 대한 비타민 C의 첨가 효과 (Orban et al, 1993)등이 보고되 었지만, 육계에서 항산화 목적의 비타민 C의 첨가 급여는 대 부분의 경우 체중 및 사료섭취량 등과 같은 사양성적에 영 향이 없는 것으로 보고되었다 (Pardue et al, 1985;McKee and Harrison, 1995). 본 연구에서도 비타민 C와 E를 단독 혹은 혼 (Kregel, 2002).…”