The effect of arginine dietary supplementation in broiler breeder hens on offspring humoral and cell-mediated immune responses

The influence of supplementing the diet of broiler breeder hens with arginine (Arg) on their offspring's humoral and cell-mediated immune response was evaluated in two experiments. In experiments I and II, breeder hens were fed diets containing graded levels of Arg (0.943, 1.093, 1.243, 1.393 and 1.543% digestible Arg). In experiment I, the offspring was randomly grouped according to the treatment received by the breeder hens, with five levels of Arg in the maternal diet and six replicates, giving a total 30 experimental units. In experiment II, the offspring were grouped in accordance with the treatment received by the breeder hens; however, Arg was added to the starter diet (1.300, 1.450, 1.600, 1.750 and 1.900% digestible Arg) and also the growing diet (1.150, 1.300, 1.450, 1.600 and 1.750% digestible Arg). Supplementation of the broiler breeder hen diet did not influence (p &gt; 0.05) the development of the lymphoid organs (cloacal bursa, thymus and spleen) of the offspring, whether their diet were supplemented or not. Nevertheless, greater weight and dimensions cloacal bursa were found in the supplemented offspring in comparison with the nonsupplemented offspring. Macrophage phagocytic activity was found to be unaffected (p &gt; 0.05), independently of the Arg supplementation. The offspring fed with supplemented diets showed a linear reduction in the antibody titer against Newcastle Disease (p < 0.05) at seven days of age, and a quadratic response (p < 0.05) at 28 days of age. The antibody titer in the non-supplemented offspring was not influenced (p &gt; 0.05) by the breeder hen diet. This study concluded that supplementing the breeder hen diet with arginine is insufficient to improve the humoral and cellular immune response, requiring supplementation of the offspring diet

Effect of Genetic Strain and Sex on Water Absorption and Water-To-Protein Ratio in Chicken Meat

ABSTRACT The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the water and protein contents and the water-to-protein ratio of chicken parts before and after the pre-chilling process, to compare these results with the values officially recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, and to evaluate the effect of genetic strain and sex on these parameters. Water (%) and protein (%) contents, and water-to-protein ratio (WPR) of boneless and skinless breast (FILLETS) and breast with bone and skin (BREAST) were determined before (BPC) and after (APC) carcass pre-chilling. A total of 585 samples were evaluated: 221 fillets/male, 216 breasts/male, 76 fillets/female, and 72 fillets/female of four different broilers strains were evaluated before (BPC) and after (APC) samples. Water and protein contents and water-to-protein ratio were determined according to the Brazilian legislation. Results showed that there were no significant differences between genetic strains (p<0.05) neither in samples collected before or after the chiller. There were no statistical differences in the parameters studied among genetic strains. However, a high percentage of male breast samples presented water level and water-to-protein ratio above the official limits already before pre-chilling