Supplementation of silymarin and chromium picolinate as feed additives in broilers enhances antioxidant status, liver, and kidney function
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Authors
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Gulab Chandra
Keywords:
Antioxidant status, Kidney function, Liver function, BroilersAbstract
The present investigation aimed to examine the consequences of supplementation of silymarin (SM) and chromium picolinate (CP) as feed additives on the antioxidant status, liver, and kidney function of broilers. 180 1-day-old (mixed-sex) broiler chicks (Cobb 400) were employed for the current study and were allocated in a completely randomized design within 4 treatments, 3 replicates per treatment, and 15 chicks in each replication. The basal diet of treatments was supplemented with silymarin (500 mg/kg feed) as milk thistle powder (SM500), chromium (400 µg/kg feed) as CP (Cr400), and a combination of SM (500 mg/kg feed) and chromium (400 µg/kg feed) (SM500+Cr400) or without any supplementation (CON), from day old to 42 days of the experiment. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were observed higher in the chicks received either SM (500 mg/kg), CP (400 µg/kg) alone, or their combination than to the control group. The level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) was declined (P<0.05) in the treatment groups but the decline was more pronounced in the SM500+CP400 group compared to all other groups. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (CREAT), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were declined, however, total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), and globulin (GLOB) levels were increased in the broilers that fed SM (500 mg/kg) and CP (400 µg/kg). The present study indicated that the addition of SM and CP in the diet of broilers improved antioxidant status and kidney and liver function which might increase the productive performance of broilers.
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