Pycnogenol and Its Nanoparticles: A Comparative Study of Their Effects on Growth, Gut Morphology, and mRNA Level of Lipid Metabolic Pathways and Antioxidant-Related Genes in Broilers

This study aimed to find out how dietary supplementation with pycnogenol and its nanoparticles affected the growth performance, immune response, and antioxidant activity of broilers. In a 35-day feeding study, 150 one-day-old male avian chicks were randomly assigned to one of three nutrition regimens in three repetitions. The studied birds received a Pycnogenol free diet (Control), a Pycnogenol at 50 mg/kg diet (PYC), or a Nano-Pycnogenol at 50 mg/kg diet (Nano-PYC). At the end, Nano-Pycnogenol group demonstrated the highest growth performance among the groups followed by Pycnogenol group (P < 0.05). Concurrent with the improved duodenum and jejunum morphologies of the tested groups in comparison to control (P < 0.05). Additionally, there were significant decreases in triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein levels (VLDL) and elevations in HDL cholesterol (P < 0.05). Furthermore, fatty acid synthetase (FAS), hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) levels and activities have been assessed, in addition to, super oxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), insulin like growth factor -1 (IGF-1), growth hormone (GHR) and myostatin mRNA expression levels and activities. All of these genes were found to be highly expressed in the Nano-PYC and PYC groups as compared to the control except FAS and Myostatin mRNA expression levels which demonstrated significantly lower levels, than the control group (P < 0.05). To sum up, giving a broiler a 50 mg/kg dose of Pycnogenol and its nanoparticles may improve the shape of its gut, and its immune system and antioxidant defences.