Improving Blood Characteristics of Broilers Exposed to Heat Stress by Diet Supplemented with Capsaicin and Chili Powder

Abstract

Abstract The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of adding capsaicin and chili C. annuum powder to poultry diet on phisyological traits (blood qualitatives) of broilers under heat stress conditions. The experiment consisted of 360 Ross-308 hybrid unsexed broiler chicks, one day old at intial weight 40 g/chick raised on a 5 cm floor mattress. The chicks were fed a starter diet (1-10 days), a second diet (11- 24 days), and the final diet 25 - 35 days. The chicks were randomly divided into 6 treatments, 3 replicates per treatment, 20 chicks Each. The treatments were: T1 control (basal diet), treatment T2, T3 and T4 basal diet fortified with capsaicin at 15, 30 or 45 mg/kg diet, respectively, while diet of the treatments T5 and T6 was mixed with chili powder at 5 and 10 g/kg diet, respectively. The results showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in the number of red blood cells (RBC) in the birds of T3, T5 and T6, with significant differences from the control T1 and the treatments T2 and T4. All treatments recorded a significant increase (P<0.05) in hemoglobin concentration (Hb) and mean cell hemoglobin (MCH). A significant superiority (P<0.05) was also recorded in the packed cell volume (PCV) for the birds of the T5 and T6 treatments compared to the birds of T1, T2 and T4 treatments. On the other hand, the total protein concentration increased in the birds of treatments T5, T4, and T3 and significantly differed from the control T1 and T2, T6. At the same time, the T5 treatment was significantly superior to T3 and T4. The cholesterol levels decreased in all treatments compared to the T1 control, while the T5 was significantly superior to the T3 and T4 treatments. The lowest concentration of glucose in the blood was recorded in treatments T4 and T5, which differed significantly from the other treatments. Uric acid concentration significantly decreased in T2, T3, T4, and T5 compared to T1 and T6. The oxidation MDA enzyme was also reduced for all treatments compared to the control. While, a significant increase (P<0.05) was recorded in the concentration of GPX enzyme in the blood of all treatments compared to the control and T4 treatments.