title: Long-term effects of early-life dietary L-carnitine on lymphoid organs and immune responses in Leghorn-type chickens.
abstract: The long-term effects of supplementing Leghorn-type chickens with dietary L-carnitine after hatching for 4 weeks on growth, lymphoid organ weights, humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were assessed in a 12-week study. A commercial starter feed supplemented with 0 (control), 100 (LC) or 1,000 (HC) mg L-carnitine/kg was offered to day-old ISA Brown cockerels for 4 weeks, then all birds were given a commercial pullet grower feed for another 8 weeks. No differences (p > 0.05) in growth rates, feed intake or feed utilisation efficiency existed among the dietary treatments throughout the study. Compared with control birds, HC-fed birds had a lower (p < 0.05) thymus weight relative to bodyweight (BW) at Week 4, but a higher (p < 0.05) relative thymus weight at Week 12. A higher (p < 0.05) serum primary antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in HC-fed birds than in the other two groups was also detected at Week 12. Relative spleen or bursa weights and cutaneous responses of toe webs to phytohaemagglutimin (PHA) (an in vivo indicator of cell-mediated immune responses) did not differ (p > 0.05) among dietary treatments at any time. It is concluded that a short-term supply of dietary L-carnitine to a conventional commercial feed after hatching enhanced subsequent humoral immunity in Leghorn-type chickens. Further study is warranted to confirm such a long-term effect.
authors.affiliation: Animal Science, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia. kdeng@jsu.edu.cn
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Nolan
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002060:Bursa of Fabricius / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002331:Carnitine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002645:Chickens / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000276:immunology; D011897:Random Allocation; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D002331:Carnitine