Metabolic response and changes in the antioxidant status of the Birkivska barvysta breed of chickens for feeding them with powder from walnut leaves

Abstract

Goal. To determine the effect of prolonged feeding with walnut leaf powder on productivity, antioxidant status, lipid metabolism indicators, and liver enzyme activity in chickens. Methods. The study was conducted in 2023 on chickens of the Birkivska barvysta breed in the conditions of the experimental farm of the State Experimental Poultry Station of the Institute of Animal Husbandry of NAAS. The antioxidant activity of the feeds was determined by the titrometric method. Biochemical parameters were examined using a semi-automatic BS3000M analyzer (Sinnowa, China) using reagents from “Filisit-Diahnostyka” (Ukraine). Statistical processing of experimental data was carried out by methods of variational statistics using a Microsoft Excel 2010 tabular processor and a built-in application statistics package. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the significance of intergroup differences. Results. It was found that walnut leaves contain a significant amount of phenolic compounds, in particular chlorogenic acid derivatives, flavonoids, and juglone, which provided high overall antioxidant activity of the raw material. Compound feeds enriched with leaves were also characterized by an increased level of natural antioxidants compared to the base diet. It was found that the introduction of powder from the leaves of walnut into the diet had a positive effect on the lipid metabolism and activity of liver enzymes, and also contributed to a decrease in the level of malonic dialdehyde, and an increase in the activity of antioxidant defense enzymes. Conclusions. The obtained results confirmed the expediency of using the powder from the leaves of walnut as a natural phytogenic additive to the diet of chickens to improve the antioxidant status and metabolism. The optimal amount of additive required to maintain the productivity and physiological stability of poultry was 1% of the mass of feed.