Protective effects of dietary mannan oligosaccharide on heat stress-induced hepatic damage in broilers

Heat stress is a major concern in broiler's production, which can damage liver of broilers. This study investigated the protective effects of mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) on heat stress-induced hepatic injury in broilers. A total of 144 day-old male chicks were allocated into three treatment groups. Broilers raised under normal ambient temperature were fed a basal diet (control group), and broilers under heat stress (32-33 °C for 8 h daily) were given the basal diet supplemented without MOS (heat stress group) or with 1 g/kg MOS (MOS group) for 42 days. Compared with the control group, heat stress reduced liver weight, whereas increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities in the serum. It also reduced glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in the serum and liver, GSH content, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the liver, but increased malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in the serum and liver. Dietary MOS decreased serum ALT activity in heat-stressed broilers. MOS inclusion also decreased serum MDA content, but elevated hepatic GSH-Px and SOD activities, with MDA content and GSH-Px activity still being different from the control group, and SOD activity being similar to the control group. Heat stress increased concentrations of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in the serum and liver, interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the liver, and mRNA abundances of HSP70, TLR4, MyD88, TNF-α, and IL-1β in the liver of broilers. Serum TNF-α content and mRNA abundances of hepatic TLR4 and TNF-α in MOS group were lower than the heat stress group, whereas these indexes were still higher than the control group. Our results indicated that dietary MOS ameliorated hepatic damage in heat-stressed broilers through alleviation of oxidative stress and inflammation.