Influence of ligustrum lucidum and schisandra chinensis fruits on antioxidative metabolism and immunological parameters of layer chicks

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of Ligustrum lucidum (LL) and Schisandra chinensis (SC) on the growth, antioxidative metabolism and immunity of laying strain male chicks. The results showed that diets supplemented with 1% of either LL or SC had no effects on the growth performance of chicks compared with the control. Furthermore, both LL and SC significantly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration of serum and heart of chicks (p<0.05). In addition, Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of serum of the birds was significantly elevated by supplementation with SC (p<0.05). Glutathione reductase (GR) activity of heart and serum of the birds was significantly elevated by supplementation with LL or SC (p<0.05). LL supplementation significantly elevated antibody values against Newcastle Disease virus (NDV)(p<0.05) and lymphoblastogenesis (p<0.05) of the birds. The results suggest that diets supplemented with 1% of either LL or SC may improve immune function and antioxidant status of chicks.