Effects of Atorvastatin and Gemfibrozil on Cellular and Humoral Immune Response in Ross 308 Broiler Chickens

a reduced circulatorys lipids influences carduvascular health and therefore it may improves productive performance in birds. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects the dietary inclusion of the atorvastatin and gemfibrozil drugs into a pelleted diet on productive performance and immune response in broiler chickens.

a total number of 54, 10-day old broiler chicks were used to examine the efftes of the three experimental treatents. The treatments consisted of a basal diet in the pelleted form (control), and addition of atorvastatin (20 mg/kg) and gemfibrozil (1800 mg/kg) in the same diet. Effects of the treatments were evaluated in a completely randomized design in 9 replicates of 2 birds each.

Inclusion of gemfibrozil into the basal diet improved feed conversion ratio during day 14 to 42 of age (p<0.05). Nosignificant effect was found for lipid-lowering drugs on the proportional weight of the immune organs and differential leukocytes counts. Antibody titer against Newcastle virus showed a significant difference among the treatments at day 21 of age. There was a lower antibody titer against Newcastle virus in the birds maintained on the diet containing gemfibrozil (p<0.05). Cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity responses elicited by intradermal injection of phytohemagglutinin were not differing among birds receiving basal diet with lipid-lowering drugs atorvastatin and gemfibrozil.

No significant effect of lipid-lowering drugs atorvastatin and gemfibrozil were found on immune system function in broiler chickens.