Poultry Science (Oct 2023)
Evaluating the impact of organic chromium on hepatic phospholipid fatty acid molecular species, transcription of genes associated with lipid metabolism and oxidative status in broiler chickens fed flaxseed
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Flaxseed is a rich source of α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3 n-3) and can be used to enrich chicken tissues with n-3 fatty acids (FA). However, antinutritional factors in flaxseed compromise the live performance of birds coupled with increased oxidative stress. Chromium (Cr) is a trace element with antioxidant properties. It is hypothesized that Cr supplementation will affect the hepatic total lipid profile, phospholipid n-3 and n-6 FA molecular species, lipid oxidation products, and transcription of genes associated with lipid metabolism in broiler chickens fed flaxseed. Ninety (n = 90), day-old Cornish cross chicks were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet containing 0% flaxseed (CTR), 10% flaxseed (FLAX), and FLAX + 0.05% organic Cr (FLAXCr) for 42 d. The chicks were kept in 18 pens with 5 chicks per pen. For all response variables, the effect of dietary treatments were compared separately using SAS 9.4. P values were considered significant at ≤0.05. Total lipids, saturated FA, long-chain (≥20C) n-6 FA were reduced while total n-3 FA and long-chain n-3 FA were higher in the liver of FLAX and FLAXCr than CTR (P 0.05). Lipid peroxidation products measured as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in liver was reduced in FLAXCr than CTR (P 0.05). Serum cholesterol and aspartic aminotransferase were reduced in FLAX and FLAXCr compared to CTR (P < 0.05). The serum glucose level was decreased in FLAX compared to CTR (P < 0.05) and a trend in decrease was noticed in FLAXCr vs. CTR (P = 0.10). Serum TBARS were higher in CTR and FLAXCr compared to FLAX (P < 0.05). In conclusion, flaxseed supplementation enhances total and long-chain n-3 FA while reducing total lipids, saturated, and n-6 FA in the liver. Supplementing Cr along with flaxseed increased n-6 FA species in the hepatic PE and decreased the transcription of genes involved in FA oxidation and lipid synthesis.
