Dietary lysophospholipids enhance broiler performance, immune response, meat quality, and mitigate oxidative stress

Background: The current study evaluated the impact of lysophospholipid emulsifiers’ (LPLs) dietary incorporation on ameliorating the negative impacts of oxidative stress in broilers. Methods: A total of 270 2-week-old male Avian 48 chicks were randomly divided into six experimental groups. The first group fed a basal diet (BD) only, while the second group (+DEX) received BD containing 2 mg/kg dexamethasone. The third and fourth groups consisted of birds fed a BD containing 0.5 and 1 g of LPLSs/kg, respectively. The fifth and sixth groups, received BD containing 1 mg/kg dexamethasone and were supplemented with 0.5 and 1 g of LPLs, respectively. Results: Separate supplementation of LPLs significantly improved the broilers’ growth as confirmed by increasing final weight, body gain, and FI with improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P < 0.05). LPLs also improved the carcass yield (carcass, breast, and thigh muscle percentages, P = 0.0001) and meat quality (water-holding capacity, P < 0.05; tenderness, P < 0.05; pH, P < 0.001; and color, P < 0.05), with notable improvement in intestinal and liver histology and significantly increased intestinal villi length and width (P < 0.001). Furthermore, LPLs improved the serum levels of globulin (P < 0.01), creatinine (P < 0.001), LDL cholesterol (P < 0.001), HDL cholesterol (P < 0.01), and triglycerides (P < 0.001). Immune and antioxidant levels, as well as LPLs’ dietary supplementation, distinctly increased the phagocytic activity and index, total antioxidants, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, with a marked reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) (P < 0.05). However, feeding dexamethasone negatively impacted the birds’ performance, confirmed by a marked retardation of the birds’ growth as manifested by lowering final body weight, gain, and increasing FCR, along with poor carcass yield and increased abdominal fat accumulation (P < 0.05). The dexamethasone-associated negative impacts were ameliorated with the combined LPL dietary supplementation.