title: Supplemental arginine administered in ovo or in the feed reduces the susceptibility of broilers to pulmonary hypertension syndrome.
abstract: 1. Two experiments were conducted to determine if in ovo and in-feed arginine (ARG) supplementation is effective in the prevention of pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS) in broiler chickens reared at high altitude. 2. In Experiment I, a total of 300 fertile eggs were divided into two equal groups. On d 5 of incubation, one group was injected with 0.5 ml of ARG (20 mg/ml) and the other remained untreated and served as controls. After hatching, male chicks (64 chickens per treatment) were selected and given a commercial maize-soyabean meal diet up to 48 d of age. 3. In Experiment II, a total of 128 male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to two treatments, a control group that were fed on a basal diet that met ARG requirements and the second was fed on the basal diet supplemented with 1.5 g ARG per kg of diet. 4. Cumulative mortality from ascites was recorded in both experiments. Results from Experiment I indicated that in ovo injection of ARG significantly decreased ascites mortality of broilers (18.8 vs. 43.8%). Results from Experiment II showed a similar effect so that ascites mortality in the group that were given Arg supplement was significantly lower than the control (28.1 vs. 43.8%).
authors.affiliation: a Department of Animal Science , Bu-Ali Sina University , Hamedan , Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haghighat
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khajali
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001201:Ascites / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality; D001835:Body Weight / Q000276:immunology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002645:Chickens; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000592:standards*; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000097:blood; D010063:Ovum / Q000276:immunology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011897:Random Allocation; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1; D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D001120:Arginine