The term “Stress” is widely used to describe a set of physiological and behavioral changes. Factors that trigger stress, so-called stressors, initiate these changes to cope with the challenges.
Deep Chand Vashishtha
M.Sc , MBA NSM
Bioncia International Pvt Ltd
Oxidative stress is downstream of all these stresses. Oxidative stress in the cells/tissues results from an imbalance between free radical production and endogenous antioxidant defense and leads to lipid peroxidation, protein nitration, DNA damage, and apoptosis.
Oxidative Stress in commercial poultry result from environmental, nutritional, microbiological, and management factors which negatively impact poultry health and production.
Oxidative stress—what is it?
Metabolic processes in cells require oxidative reactions. During these standard processes, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced. ROS are essential metabolites involved in enzymatic reactions, mitochondrial electron transport, signal transduction, activation of nuclear transcription factors, and gene expression. However, due to their reactive nature, ROS can have adverse effects and damage cell walls.
ROS can be neutralized by endogenous antioxidant mechanisms and radical scavengers like poly phenols. In a balanced system, there are enough antioxidants to neutralize ROS. As soon as this system is not balanced anymore and there are more ROS than available antioxidants, oxidative stress is marked mostly due to increased oxidative processes and ROS production. This leads to cell and tissue damage (e.g., liver cells, mucosal cells).
How to counteract oxidative stress?
Several nutritional strategies are available to alleviate oxidative stress and enhance animals ‘health and welfare status. The physical form of the diet, feed composition, and quality of single feed ingredients used are primary tools to control and improve performance and health.
Adding synthetic or natural antioxidants to diets, limiting lipid peroxidation in feed is common practice, and single product will not solve antioxidant purpose So we need add more . This is not wealthy for poultry practices because it is prices issue .
However, evidence on the beneficial effects due to the application of Active Flavonoids additives as antioxidants is increasing. This is something we have known about human nutrition for years. Diets rich in vegetables and fruits have increased antioxidants’ intake and thereby reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, thus minimizing the risk of developing diseases.
Flavonoids feed additives show clear potential to reduce oxidative stress. Recent literature and research data indicate a higher efficacy of such natural antioxidants than the customarily used synthetic antioxidants or vitamin E.
Flavonoids (also named as bioflavonoids) are naturally occurring secondary plant metabolites found in all plant species and known to exhibit a number of benefits. Due to their possible role in health promoting and preventing from chronic diseases, they could be known as “functional ingredients” and “health promoting biomolecules”. Flavonoids have shown various biological effects including antibacterial, antiviral, gut modulatory, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypocholesteremic and immunomodulator activities.
Conclusion
Oxidative stress is not associated with a disease but can result in performance losses and higher susceptibility of poultry to diseases. This results in an economic impact on livestock production. Recently, much attention has been paid to nutritional strategies to counteract oxidative stress. One promising way is the supplementation with Active Flavonoids feed additives, as these active substances have shown immense potential for their anti-oxidative properties and efficacy.