Work

Comprehensive impacts of black elderberry ( Sambucus nigra L. ) extract on mitigating acute heat stress, augmenting antioxidant defenses, and enhancing broiler chicken health and meat quality

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Poultry genotypes’ low heat tolerance affects birds’ health, which results in major economic losses and calls for an immediate, consumer-friendly dietary plan. This study assessed black elderberry extract (BE) on 120-Cobb chickens, 35-days old, to mitigate the adverse-effects of acute heat stress on clinical and pathological parameters, antioxidant status, and meat quality. Birds were divided into four-groups: NEG: maintained at thermoneutral temperature (24 ± 1°C); 2) BE: administered 0.15 g/L BE extract for 12-h while kept at 24 ± 1°C; HSBE: maintained at 38 ± 1°C for 6-h and treated with BE extract (0.15 g/L); HS: maintained at 38 ± 1°C for 6-h. BE supplementation under heat stress significantly mitigated these effects, reducing rectal temperature and droppings moisture (p < 0.05), lowering both macroscopic and histological lesion severity at 3 and 12 h (p < 0.05), and improving meat quality traits—lower cooking and thawing losses, enhanced water-holding capacity, and better tenderness – while also diminished muscle malondialdehyde concentration, and elevated levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and omega-3 PUFA, particularly alpha-linolenic acid (p < 0.05). The results suggest that the use of BE extract in the water of broiler chickens during periods of heat stress is beneficial, and further research on heat stress-reducing efficacy of BE is needed.

Source: Journal of Applied Animal Research

DOI: 10.1080/09712119.2025.2555245