Effect of resveratrol on growth performance, rectal temperature and serum parameters of yellow-feather broilers under heat stress

This study investigated the effect of dietary resveratrol supplementation on growth performance, rectal temperature, and serum parameters of yellow-feather broilers under heat stress. A total of 480 yellow-feather broilers (28-day-old) were randomly allotted to five groups with six replicates. A thermoneutral group (TN) (24 +/- 2 degrees C) received a basal diet and another four heat-stressed groups (37 +/- 2 degrees C for 8 hr/day and 24 +/- 2 degrees C for the remaining time) were fed the basal diet or basal diet with 200, 350, and 500 mg/kg resveratrol for 14 consecutive days. The results revealed that resveratrol supplementation improved average daily gain (p = 0.001), and decreased (p < 0.05) rectal temperature from d 3 when compared with heat-stressed group without resveratrol. In addition, supplementation with resveratrol at 350 or 500 mg/kg lowered (p < 0.05) the contents of corticosterone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, malonaldehyde, and activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase, increased (p < 0.05) the levels of triiodothyronine, the ratio of triiodothyronine to thyroxine, total protein, glutathione, and activities of alkaline phosphatase, total superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, though with few fluctuation. In conclusion, supplementation with resveratrol can improve the growth performance by positively regulating serum metabolic parameters and alleviating tissue oxidant damage of broilers under heat stress.