Vit C and green tea extract aids broilers with heat stress

Feeding vitamin C from day 1 appears to alleviate stress more effectively, suggesting that it may be important to determine the appropriate timing of additional functional substances to effectively reduce various stresses that occur in livestock rearing.

The research looked at the stress relieving effects of vitamin C and green tea extract in broiler chickens kept in high temperatures.

A total of 880 day-old birds were used in the following treatments:

• No feed additives provided (control)
• Vitamin C 250mg/kg added from day 1, VC1
• Green tea extract 600mg/kg added from day 1, GTE1
• Vitamin C 250mg/kg added from 22 days, VC22
• Green tea extract 600mg/kg added from 22 days, GTE22.

The heat stress environment was provided for 2 weeks from day 22 and was set at 33°C (+/-1°C), and humidity of 55 (+/10%) for 24 hours. Feed and water were provided ad libitum and broiler production was similar for all treatments.

The results

In terms of meat quality, the study found that the addition of vitamin C and green tea extract had an effect on meat colour and pH (P<0.05). Green tea extract had a positive effect on the antioxidant capacity and quality preservation of breast meat (P<0.05). GTE1 significantly lowered the level of total cholesterol, and VC1 affected AST and IgM (P<0.05).

The study, led by Son Jiseon of the Korean Poultry Research Institute, found that the VC1 group had a positive effect on the maintenance and development of intestinal morphology, a lower rectal temperature and showed to relieve stress.

It suggests that it is important to determine the appropriate timing of the addition of functional substances to effectively reduce various stresses that occur in livestock farming.

The research was published in the Journal of Animal Science – A comparative study on feeding timing and additive types of broilers in a high-temperature environment – PubMed (nih.gov)