Ácido ascórbico em rações de frangos de corte e seus efeitos sobre características de desempenho e metabolismo mitocondrial

Abstract

Vitamins are organic compounds that play important roles in the organism. Ascorbic acid is described as an antioxidant element and thus acts scavengers free radicals. The excess of these molecules causes oxidative stress, which can consequently compromise cellular functions in the animal performance. Mitochondria are the main targets of oxidative stress, and a mitochondrial dysfunction can cause an impact in the performance of animals’ production. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of ascorbic acid supplementation on performance characteristics, biometrics and mitochondrial metabolism of broilers hepatic cells. A total of 832 1-day-old chicks, males of the Cobb-500 breed, which were housed in an experimental shed divided into 32 cages. A completely randomized design with 04 treatments (0; 2.5; 5 and 10 mg/kg of ascorbic acid) and 08 repetitions, 26 birds per repetition. Feed intake (FI), Weight Gain (WG), and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) were evaluated. In addition to viability, weight and biometry of digestive organs and annexes and the mitochondrial metabolism. The results showed that the supplementation of diets with protected ascorbic acid, carried out in the pre-starter had a beneficial effect on characteristics such as weight gain and feed conversion, in the starter. There was no effect on viscera biometry (spleen, cloacal sac and heart) and digestive tract (small intestine, pancreas and liver). It was observed that birds receiving 2.5mg/kg of ascorbic acid had higher oxygen consumption after succinate stimulation. In pre-starter chicken diets supplementation, ascorbic acid had a beneficial effect on mitochondrial metabolism at the dose of 2.5mg/kg and for performance characteristics as feed conversion (1-10 days and 121 days) and weight gain (1-21 days) under the experimental conditions tested. In conclusion, the use of protected ascorbic acid at lower doses than those used in the supplementation of broiler feeds improves hepatic mitochondrial metabolism and the performance of these animals in the studied phases.