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Tissue-specific antioxidant profiles and susceptibility to lipid peroxidation of the newly hatched chick
P F Surai1, B K Speake, R C Noble
1Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Scottish Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr, UK.
Insights
Newly hatched chicks exhibit unique tissue fatty acid profiles and antioxidant levels. The brain, highly unsaturated, shows increased susceptibility to lipid peroxidation, suggesting antioxidant enzymes are crucial for postnatal chick development.
Area of Science:
- * Avian physiology and developmental biology.
- * Biochemistry and oxidative stress research.
Background:
- * Newly hatched chicks represent a transitional developmental stage between prenatal and postnatal life.
- * Understanding tissue-specific adaptations is crucial for evaluating chick health and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the relationship between tissue-specific fatty acid composition and antioxidant status in newly hatched chicks.
- * To assess variations in antioxidant levels and susceptibility to lipid peroxidation across different chick tissues.
Main Methods:
- * Analysis of fatty acid profiles (total lipids, phosphoglycerides) in liver, yolk sac membrane, heart, kidney, lung, and brain regions.
- * Quantification of antioxidants: alpha-tocopherol, lutein, ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione.
- * Measurement of antioxidant enzyme activities: superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and trace mineral levels (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn).
- * Evaluation of tissue susceptibility to lipid peroxidation.
Main Results:
- * Distinct fatty acid profiles, antioxidant levels, and lipid peroxidation susceptibility were observed across chick tissues.
- * The brain exhibited the highest susceptibility to lipid peroxidation, characterized by high unsaturation, low vitamin E, low glutathione peroxidase and catalase activity, but high ascorbic acid and superoxide dismutase activity.
- * Other tissues showed varied antioxidant profiles and susceptibility.
Conclusions:
- * Newly hatched chicks possess unique tissue-specific adaptations in fatty acid composition and antioxidant defense mechanisms.
- * The brain's high susceptibility to lipid peroxidation highlights the importance of specific antioxidant strategies, particularly antioxidant enzymes, for postnatal development in chicks.
Abstract:
The hatching process is characterized by a range of adaptive changes, and a newly hatched chick is considered as an intermediate stage between prenatal and postnatal development. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the characteristic relationships between tissue-specific fatty acid composition and antioxidant protection in newly hatched chicks. Liver, yolk sac membrane, heart, kidney, lung, and four brain regions (cerebrum, cerebellum, stem, and optic lobes) were collected. Fatty acid composition of total lipids and phosphoglycerides, alpha-tocopherol, lutein, ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione, and the activities of Mn- and Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Se-dependent and non-Se-glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) were determined. The levels of Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn as well as tissue susceptibility to lipid peroxidation were also studied. The tissues of the newly hatched chick showed distinctive features in fatty acid profiles, antioxidant accumulation, and susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. The brain clearly displayed the greatest susceptibility to spontaneous and Fe-stimulated lipid peroxidation, was highly unsaturated and contained very low levels of vitamin E, no detectable carotenoids, low GSH-Px, and low CAT activity. At the same time, the brain was characterized by high ascorbic acid concentration and comparatively high SOD activity. It was suggested that in postnatal development, antioxidant enzymes presumably play the major role in antioxidant protection of the chick tissues.