This study investigated the effect of oxidized soybean oil in the diet of young chickens on growth performance and intestinal oxidative stress, and indices of intestinal immune function. Corn-soybean-based diets containing 2% mixtures of fresh and oxidized soybean oil provided 6 levels (0.15, 1.01, 3.14, 4.95, 7.05, and 8.97 meqO2/kg) of peroxide value (POV) in the diets. Each dietary treatment, fed for 22 d, had 6 replicates, each containing 30 birds (n = 1,080). Increasing POV levels reduced average daily feed intake (ADFI) of the broilers during d 1 to 10, body weight and average daily gain at d 22 but did not affect overall ADFI. Concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) increased in plasma and jejunum as POV increased but total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) declined in plasma and jejunum. Catalase (CAT) activity declined in plasma and jejunum as did plasma glutathione S-transferase (GST). Effects were apparent at POV exceeding 3.14 meqO2/kg for early ADFI and MDA in jejunum, and POV exceeding 1.01 meqO2/kg for CAT in plasma and jejunum, GST in plasma and T-AOC in jejunum. Relative jejunal abundance of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) P50 and NF-κB P65 increased as dietary POV increased. Increasing POV levels reduced the jejunal concentrations of secretory immunoglobulin A and cluster of differentiation (CD) 4 and CD8 molecules with differences from controls apparent at dietary POV of 3.14 to 4.95 meqO2/kg. These findings indicated that growth performance, feed intake, and the local immune system of the small intestine were compromised by oxidative stress when young broilers were fed moderately oxidized soybean oil.
Keywords: Intestinal Immunity; Oxidative Stress; Oxidized Soybean Oil; Yellow-feathered Broilers.