Effects of chitosan on growth performance, antioxidant status and some hematological and biochemical parameters of broilers

Abstract

Introduction: Chitosan is one of the derivatives of marine crustacean chitin shells and a
polymer of glucosamine, which is obtained from the deacetylation of chitin. The biological
activities of chitosan, such as its cholesterol-lowering effects, as well as its antibacterial and
antioxidant effects, are well known in some species. Therefore, this experiment was
performed to investigate the effects of chitosan on antioxidant status and some biochemical
parameters in broiler chickens.
Materials & Methods: For this study, 400 male broilers of Ross 308 strain were assigned
to four treatments, five replications, and 20 chickens for each replication in a completely
randomized design. Experimental treatments included 1) basic diet, and treatments 2, 3, and
4) were levels of 0.5, 1, and 2 g of chitosan per kg of basic diet, respectively. Blood and
biochemical parameters including red blood cell count, white blood cell count, hemoglobin
content, hematocrit, monocyte, heterophils and lymphocyte count, triglyceride and blood
cholesterol, antioxidant enzyme activity including glutathione peroxidase, superoxide
disodium, and peroxidase Plasma hepatic enzymes alanine aminotransferase and aspartate
aminotransferase were measured. Growth performance parameters including weight gain,
feed intake and feed conversion ratio were also calculated for the whole experimental
period.
Result: The results showed that different levels of chitosan significantly improved the
antioxidant indices by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione
peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase) and reducing the levels of alanine
aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase enzymes. Growth performance parameters
and other blood parameters except white blood cell count were not significantly affected by
different levels of chitosan.
Conclusion: The use of chitosan significantly improved antioxidant parameters (increasing
the activity of antioxidant enzymes and simultaneously decreasing the level of liver
enzymes) in broilers. Therefore, the use of proposed chitosan levels in this scheme is
recommended to improve the antioxidant status of broilers in conditions of oxidative stress.