Dietary incorporation of biological curcumin nanoparticles improved growth performance, ileal architecture, antioxidative status, serum lipid profile, and humoral immune response of heat-stressed broiler chickens

Heat stress greatly impairs poultry productivity, underscoring the urgent need for effective strategies to mitigate these adverse effects and improve overall poultry health. This study assessed the impact of dietary curcumin nanoparticles (CurNPs) on blood metabolites, immunity, redox status, ileal histomorphometry, and growth of broilers subjected to heat stress. A total of 400 one-day-old Ross-308 broiler chicks were randomly distributed into five groups, each consisting of eight replicates with ten birds per replicate. The chicks were fed a basal diet containing CurNPs at concentrations of 0, 100, 200, 300, or 400 mg/kg feed, designated as 0CurNPs, 100CurNPs, 200CurNPs, 300CurNPs, and 400CurNPs, respectively. Dietary CurNPs supplementation linearly (P > 0.001) improved weight gain, feed conversion ratio and European production efficiency index, while feed intake decreased linearly (P > 0.001) with increasing CurNPs supplementation. Carcass traits and serum renal and hepatic function biomarkers remained unaffected by the treatment. Serum cholesterol and LDL levels exhibited linear and quadratic (P > 0.05) reduction in all treated groups, although triglycerides and VLDL levels reduced linearly (P > 0.05) only in the 300CurNPs group. The inclusion of CurNPs resulted in a linear and quadratic increase (P > 0.05) in ileal villi height and a linear elevation (P > 0.05) in the villi height-to-crypt depth ratio. The redox status was improved with CurNPs supplementation, as serum MDA levels showed a linear decrease (P > 0.05) in the 300CurNPs and 400CurNPs groups, while SOD levels increased linearly and quadratically (P > 0.05) across all treated groups. Furthermore, dietary CurNPs exhibited linear (P > 0.001) increases in serum levels of IgM, IgG, and IgA, though antibody titres against NDV and AIV were unaffected. In conclusion, CurNPs proved to be an effective growth promoter, enhancing growth, intestinal architecture, redox status, and humoral immunity in heat-stressed broilers.