Effects of Glutamine Supplementation and Early Cold Conditioning on Cold Stress Adaptability in Broilers

Effects of Glutamine Supplementation and Early Cold Conditioning on Cold Stress Adaptability in Broilers

Cold stress disrupts broiler homeostasis, and a single intervention may be insufficient for protection. This study examined the effects of early cold conditioning (25 ± 1 °C for 3 h at 5 days) and glutamine (Gln) supplementation on broiler thermotolerance during a 16 ± 1 °C cold challenge at 35 days...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hanan Al-Khalaifah, Samar A. Tolba, Afaf Al-Nasser, Ahmed Gouda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Animals
Subjects:
antioxidant activity
broilers
cold conditioning
glutamine
immunity
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/10/1386
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Summary:Cold stress disrupts broiler homeostasis, and a single intervention may be insufficient for protection. This study examined the effects of early cold conditioning (25 ± 1 °C for 3 h at 5 days) and glutamine (Gln) supplementation on broiler thermotolerance during a 16 ± 1 °C cold challenge at 35 days. A 2 × 3 factorial design assigned 360 Cobb-500 broilers to six treatments (six replicates/treatment, ten birds/replicate) with three Gln levels (0%, 0.3%, and 0.5%) and two temperature conditions: standard temperature and a 7 °C reduction at 5 days old. Supplementing with 0.3% and 0.5% Gln and cold conditioning improved growth performance (<i>p</i> < 0.05), except for feed intake during the grower-finisher phase and overall growth with cold conditioning alone. Adding 0.3% and 0.5% Gln enhanced hemoglobin, total protein, albumin, triiodothyronine (T<sub>3</sub>), thyroxine (T<sub>4</sub>), antioxidant capacity, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), interleukin 2 (IL2), IL10, IL4, interferon-γ (INF-γ), and troponin-T levels (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Cold conditioning influenced packed cell volume, T<sub>3</sub>, T<sub>4</sub>, CAT, HSP70, IL10, INF-γ, and troponin-T levels (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Diet-temperature interaction influenced growth, antioxidant, and immune responses, but not hematological or biochemical indicators. Overall, dietary Gln at 0.3% and 0.5% and early cold conditioning may serve as complementary strategies to mitigate cold stress in broilers.
ISSN:2076-2615

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