Increased dietary protein elevates plasma uric acid and is associated with decreased oxidative stress in rapidly-growing broilers.
Uric acid is an important antioxidant and methods to elevate its plasma concentration may be important in animal health. In a first study, the effect of dietary protein on plasma uric acid (PUA) and glucose concentrations were determined in 3-week-old chicks. Twenty-four broiler chicks were randomly assigned to four diets: a commercial control diet (C, 20% crude protein), low protein (LP) containing 10% casein, medium protein (MP) containing 20% casein or high protein (HP) containing 45% casein for a 3-week experiment. PUA concentration increased (P<0.05) in chicks fed HP diet and declined (P<0.05) in chicks fed LP while plasma glucose concentrations were lower (P<0.05) in chicks fed the LP diet at the end of the study. In a second study, PUA and leukocyte oxidative activity (LOA) were determined in broilers fed C, LP, MP or HP diets for 4 weeks. As in the first study, dietary protein directly affected PUA concentrations. In birds consuming HP diets, PUA was negatively correlated (P=0.06) with lowered LOA. These data support the view that increases in dietary protein can increase PUA concentrations, which can ameliorate oxidative stress.
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Division of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6108, Morgantown, WV 26506-6108, USA.
Simoyi
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Blemings
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Klandorf
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D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants; D001835:Body Weight; D002645:Chickens; D004032:Diet; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019649:Food Industry / Q000379:methods; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood*
D000975:Antioxidants; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D014527:Uric Acid