Effects of Citrus Extract on Plasma Biochemical Indexes,Hormone Levels and Antioxidant Function of Broilers after Transport Stress

In order to study the effects of citrus extract on the plasma biochemical indexes,hormone level and antioxidant function of broilers after transport stress,a total of 360 twenty-eight-day-old fast-growing Yellow feather broilers were randomly divided into two groups (6 replicates per group,30 per replicate).The control group was fed basic diet without antibiotics,the experimental group was fed basic diet supplemented with 10 mg/kg citrus extract.At 63 days,six chickens were selected from each replicate for transport stress test for 0,2,and 4 h,respectively,and plasma sampling were conducted after transportation.The results showed that:① For glucose,cholesterol and urea nitrogen,there was a significant interaction between food treatment and transportation time (P<0.05).Compared with the control group,the contents of urea nitrogen and cholesterol in the plasma of broilers in the experimental group were significantly lower than that in the control group,and the content of glucose in the plasma of broilers in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05).Transport stress significantly affected the content of urea nitrogen,cholesterol and glucose in the plasma of broilers in the control group,after transportation,the content of urea nitrogen and cholesterol increased significantly,while the content of glucose decreased significantly (P<0.05).② For corticosterone,triiodothyronine and thyroxine,there was significant interaction between food treatment and transport time (P<0.05).Compared with the control group,the content of corticosterone in the plasma of broilers in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group,while the content of triiodothyronine and thyroxine in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05).Transport stress significantly affected the content of corticosterone,triiodothyronine and thyroxine in the plasma of the control group,after transportation,the content of corticosterone in the plasma of the broiler significantly increased,while the content of triiodothyronine and thyroxine significantly decreased (P<0.05).③ For glutathione peroxidase,there was a significant interaction between food treatment and transportation time (P<0.05).Compared with the control group,the glutathione peroxidase activity in the plasma of broilers in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05);Transport stress significantly affected the activity of glutathione peroxidase in the plasma of broilers in the control group.With the prolongation of transport time,the activity of glutathione peroxidase in the plasma of broilers decreased significantly (P<0.05).Therefore,transportation stress affected the metabolism level,hormone secretion and antioxidant function of Yellow feather broiler.Adding citrus extract to the diet could improve the metabolism level,regulate hormone secretion and improve antioxidant capacity,and alleviate the impact of transportation stress on Yellow feather broiler.