Dietary Frankincense (Boswellia serrata) Oil Modulates the Growth, Intestinal Morphology, the Fatty Acid Composition of Breast Muscle, Immune Status, and Immunoexpression of CD3 and CD20 in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

This investigation explored the impact of dietary frankincense resin oil (FO) on growth performance parameters, intestinal histomorphology, fatty acid composition of the breast muscle, and the immune status of broilers. We allotted 400, three-day-old, male chicks (Ross 308 broiler) into four treatment groups (ten replicates/group; ten chicks/replicate). They were fed a basal diet with different concentrations of FO (0, 200, 400, and 600 mg kg^-1). FO supplementation increased the overall body weight (BW) and body weight gain (BWG) by different amounts, linearly improving the feed conversion ratio with the in-supplementation level. Total feed intake (TFI) was not affected. Growth hormones and total serum protein levels also linearly increased with the FO level, while albumin was elevated in the FO600 group. Moreover, total globulins increased linearly in FO400 and FO600 treatment groups. Thyroxin hormone (T3 and T4) levels increased in all FO treatment groups without affecting glucose and leptin serum values. Different concentrations of FO supplementation in the diet increased the activities of Complement 3, lysozyme, and interleukin 10 levels in the serum. Dietary FO in broilers increased the total percentage of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. It also increased the ratio of n-3 to n-6 linearly and quadratically. Additionally, FO supplementation led to the upregulation of immune clusters of differentiation 3 and 20 (CD3 and CD20) in the spleen, along with improving most of the morphometric measures of the small intestine. In conclusion, FO up to 600 mg kg^-1 as a feed additive in broiler chicken production is valuable for promoting their growth, intestinal histomorphology, and immune status along with enriching breast muscle with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).

Keywords: biochemical indices; broiler chickens; fatty acid profile; frankincense oil; growth; histomorphology; immune.

Figure 1

Chromatographic Characteristics of FO Compounds.

Figure 2

Photomicrograph of the small intestine showing the effect of dietary FO supplementation on different intestinal morphometric measures. VH (green arrows); VW (brown arrows); CD (orange arrows); MCT (black stars). Routine H&E showed a moderate number of goblet cells in FO400 and FO600 groups (16, 17 cells/HPF, respectively) but high numbers in FO0 and FO200 groups (25, 38 cells/HPF, respectively). The FO200 group shows mild villous epithelial stratification with multilayered and proliferated cells having central rounded nuclei and abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm. The normal arrangement of villous cells is seen in other groups. (A,A1), FO0; (B,B1), FO200; (C,C1), FO400; (D,D1), FO600, H&E × 100, 200, respectively.

Figure 3

Morphometric analyses of immunostained CD3 and CD20 cells in the spleen of broilers from different experimental groups. Means with different superscripts (^a,b,c,d) are significant at p < 0.05.

Figure 4

Immunostaining showing positive (red arrows) and negative (black arrows) CD3 cells in the spleen of broilers from different experimental groups. (A) FO0; (B) FO200; (C) FO400; (D) FO600.

Figure 5

Immunostaining showing positive (red arrows) and negative (black arrows) CD20 cells in the spleen of broilers from different experimental groups. (A) FO0; (B) FO200; (C) FO400; (D) FO600.