The Effect of Ginger Powder on Thyroid Hormones and Influenza Titer in Broilers

Background: Thyroid hormones play a role in increasing protein production and nitrogen retention in the body, accelerating enzyme activity, combining and neutralizing enzyme inhibitors, increasing cell membrane permeability, improving glucose utilization efficiency, increasing growth hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland, and cooperating with this hormone in increasing chick growth.Consequently, the role of endocrine glands, including the thyroid gland, in the body's metabolic activities is an undeniable fact.In this regard, the effects of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism and related hormonal fluctuations can severely affect the mechanism of chemical reactions in the body.Ginger is a plant with strong antioxidant compounds that reduce or prevent the production of free radicals.Ginger and its main components collect and bind free radicals, protect cell membranes from oxidation, reduce lipid peroxidation, and increase the levels of antioxidant enzymes.The main antioxidant compounds in ginger are gingerols, sesquiterpenes, shogaols, and some of their phenolic ketone derivatives, which have the ability to neutralize superoxide and hydroxyl radicals.This research aimed to study the effect of ginger powder on thyroid hormones and influenza titer in broiler breeder roosters.Methods: The research was conducted using 27 Ross 308 broiler breeder roosters aged 47 weeks, in a completely randomized design for 11 weeks, with three experimental treatments and nine replicates.The experimental treatments were Treatment 1: Control (basal diet), Treatment 2: Basal diet + 7.5 g ginger powder per kg of consumed diet, and Treatment 3: Basal diet + 15 g ginger powder per kg of consumed diet.During the research period, birds had restricted access to feed.At the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken from the wing vein of all roosters (three treatment groups, three replicates, and three experimental units) to measure thyroid hormone parameters and influenza titer.Data were analyzed using SAS statistical software (version 9.1).Results: The body weight was not affected by the experimental treatment (P > 0.05); triiodothyronine (T3) and tetraiodothyronine (T4) concentrations were affected by the experimental treatments (P < 0.05).The highest triiodothyronine concentration was observed in birds that received 7.5 and 15 g of ginger powder (P < 0.05).The tetraiodothyronine concentration was higher in birds that received 15 g of ginger powder than in the control treatment (P < 0.05).The antioxidant activity of ginger is due to the presence of flavonoids, isoflavones, flavones, and anthocyanins; in fact, ginger has strong antioxidant activity against free radicals in in vitro and in vivo environments.It has been shown that 6-gingerol has antioxidant activity in in vitro and in vivo environments and is an effective agent for preventing the production of reactive oxygen species.Another study has shown that 6-gingerol is an antioxidant compound that becomes oxidized.Given the presence of abundant alkaloids in ginger powder and their mechanism of action on thyroid hormones, an increase in thyroid hormone levels from this plant is expected, and these changes likely occur following an increase in plasma protein levels.Therefore, to explain the increase in thyroid hormone concentrations in treatments receiving ginger powder in the present study, one can refer to properties such as alkaloid compounds and the wide variety of active antioxidant ingredients and their effect on thyroid gland activity.The influenza titer of roosters that received 7.5 and 15 g of ginger powder tended to increase compared to the control group (P = 0.07); the highest influenza titer (with an average of 8.55) was observed in the 15 g ginger powder treatment, and the lowest influenza titer (with an average of 7.55) was observed in