The Effect of Dietary Sanguinaria canadensis Extract and/or Mannan-Oligosaccharide Supplementation on Body Weight and Serum Total Antioxidant Activity in Broilers Under Heat Stress

Sanguinaria canadensis L. is an herbalceous perennial that contains benzophenanthridine alkaloids, including sanguinarine and dihydrosanguinarine. Mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) is derived from the cell wall of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of the supplementation of Sanguinaria canadensis extract (SCE) and/or MOS on body weight and serum total antioxidant activity in broilers under heat stress (HS[+]) and normal (HS[-]) conditions. A total of 72 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler were randomly assigned to 8 pens in two environmentally controlled rooms (4 pens per room). The dietary treatments were: (1) basal diet (control), (2) basal diet plus 1 g/kg of SCE, (3) basal diet plus 1 g/kg of MOS, (4) basal diet plus 1 g/kg of SCE and 1 g/kg of MOS. At 15 days of age, the chickens in one of the two rooms were exposed to HS (34±2°C) for 6 h, while the chickens in another room were continuously kept under normal conditions, serving as control treatment (22±2°C). During the study, body weights were significantly different and these differences were depended on diet and heat. HS[+] groups had lower body weights, however, the supplementation of SCE and MOS improved this situation positively. During the study, it was also determined that there was an interaction between diet and heat. Differences for serum antioxidant activity between HS[-] and HS[+] groups were significant for CUPRAC analysis results and unsignificant for ABTS analysis results.