Objective: An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of supplementing graded concentrations of inorganic sulphur (S) without and with folic acid (FA) in maize-soybean meal diets on performance, slaughter and anti-oxidant variables, immune responses and serum protein fractions in broiler chicken.
Methods: Inorganic S was supplemented at 0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%, and 0.20% alone or in combination with FA (4 mg/kg) in basal diet (BD) containing no supplemental methionine (Met) and FA. A control group was fed with the recommended concentration of Met. Each diet was offered to 10 pens of 5 male broiler chicks (Cobb 400) and fed ad libitum from day 1 to 42.
Results: The broilers fed the BD had lower body weight gain (BWG), feed efficiency (FE), higher lipid peroxidation (LP), lower activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), lower lymphocyte proliferation ratio (LPR), and reduced concentrations of total protein, albumin, and globulin in serum. Supplementation of FA and S to the BD improved the BWG (all concentrations of S) and FE (0.20% S) similar to the control group. Similarly, the combination of S and FA significantly improved the concentrations of total protein, albumin, and globulin in serum, reduced the LP and increased the activity of GSHPx and LPR. However, responses in the above parameters were related to the concentration of S in the diet. The slaughter variables and antibody titres against the Newcastle disease were not affected with the treatments.
Conclusion: Based on the results, it is concluded that the combination of S (0.2%) and FA (4 mg/kg) improved the BWG and FE, similarly supplementation of these nutrients improved the concentration of protein fractions and reduced the stress (reduced LP and improved GSHPx) variables in serum and improved the cell mediated immune response (LPR) in broilers fed sub-optimal concentrations of Met in diet.
Keywords: Anti-oxidant Variables; Body Weight; Broiler Chicken; Folic Acid; Methionine; Sulfur.