Effect of dietary supplementation of some antioxidant combinations on nutrient digestibility in heat-stressed broilers

Abstract The paper investigated the effect of some dietary antioxidant’s combinations on nutrient digestibility in heat-stressed broilers. The experimental study was conducted for 28 days on 120 Cobb 500 broilers (14 days of age) assigned into 4 groups (30 chicks/group) in cages and exposed to heat stress conditions (32 °C). The control group was fed a control diet (C) and the experimental groups were fed diets including 200 µg/kg diet chromium picolinate and: 0.25 g vitamin C (VC)/kg diet (Cr-VC), 0.025 g Zn/kg diet (Cr- Zn), and 10 g creeping wood sorrel powder (CWS)/kg diet (Cr-CWS). Our results showed that dietary combinations of supplemented antioxidants for chickens under heat stress had a positive effect on the digestibility of nutrients and nutrient deposits in liver tissue. Dietary combined effect of Cr and vitamin C or Cr and Zn potentiates the Fe deposition in broilers’ liver while Cr-Zn improved the apparent digestibility of crude protein, crude fat, Fe and Zn.