Dietary Alpha-Lipoic Acid Effects on The Mitigation of the Negative Impact of Heat Stress in Broilers

The goal of the current study was to assess how α-lipoic acid (ALA) mitigates the negative effects of heat stress (HS) on various biochemical parameters and antioxidant status. For 35 days, a total of 72 one-day-old chicks with an initial body weight average of 45±3 gm were divided into four groups: TNC: no supplements were provided in diet (control group); TN-ALA: 25 gm ALA /100 kg of feed was supplemented; HS-Control: no supplements were added, and the birds were exposed to heat stress; and (HS-ALA: 25 gm ALA/100 kg of diet was supplemented and the birds were exposed to heat stress). From the 21st day to the end of the experiment, heat stress groups were subjected to (40±5˚C) for eight hours each day (from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Four healthy birds were randomly chosen from each group and slaughtered at the end of the trial for sampling and analysis. Body weight, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were not significantly increased by the addition of ALA, while feed intake was significantly raised. When compared with HS-Control group, the dietary addition of ALA considerably lowered the serum total protein and albumin. ALT and AST activities were increased by heat stress unlike with ALA treatment, ALT and AST considerably dropped. The level of serum uric acid and urea decreased while creatinine was not considerably impacted. The addition of ALA to the diet resulted in a considerable decrease in serum total lipids. Malondialdehyde (MDA) dropped noticeably while catalase enzyme activity was elevated. The glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1), superoxide dismutase-1(SOD-1) and mucin-2 (MUC-2) gene expression levels were boosted dramatically in groups supplemented with ALA. The findings indicated that a meal rich in ALA had an impact on some biochemical variables, improved the antioxidant status and boosted the level of genes expression (GLP-1, PGC-1α, SOD-1 and MUC-2).