Long-term effects of early-life dietary L-carnitine on lymphoid organs and immune responses in Leghorn-type chickens

Title
Long-term effects of early-life dietary L-carnitine on lymphoid organs and immune responses in Leghorn-type chickens
Publication Date
2006
Author(s)
Deng, Kai Dong
Wong, Chun Wai
Nolan, John Vivian
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7949-950X
Email: jnolan@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:jnolan
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Place of publication
Germany
DOI
10.1111/j.1439-0396.2005.00569.x
UNE publication id
une:3521
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 1000 (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.
Link
Citation
Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 90(1-2), p. 81-85
ISSN
1439-0396
0931-2439
Start page
81
End page
85

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