Acta Vet. Brno 2009, 78: 411-417
Effect of Cinnamomum zeylanicum Essential Oil on Antioxidative Status in Broiler Chickens
The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oil on antioxidant status of chickens. Thirty-two female Ross 308 hybrid broilers were fed one of four diets supplemented with 0%, 0.1%, 0.05% and 0.025% of essential oil for 38 days. Blood, liver, kidney and duodenal epithelium were collected for the subsequent evaluation of antioxidant status. Feeding of adiet supplemented with 0.1% of essential oil significantly decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in plasma and duodenal mucosa in comparison with the control group (0%). The activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were significantly higher in blood of chicks fed the diet containing 0.1% of essential oil. Diets containing 0.05% and 0.025% of essential oil reduced alanine amino transferase (ALT) activity in plasma in comparison with the control group. Blood phagocytic activity significantly increased in chickens fed the diet supplemented with 0.1% and the index of phygocytic activity was affected by the diet containing 0.025% of essential oil in comparison with the control group. The present investigation shows that Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oil exhibits a significant antioxidant activity in fattening chickens and can be used as a source of antioxidant in dietary supplement.
Keywords
Essential oil, Lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes, phagocytosis.
