Quality traits, fatty acids, mineral content of meat and blood metabolites changes of broiler chickens after artificial infection with sporulated Eimeria tenella oocysts

Figures & data

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the experimental design.

Table 1. Chemical composition of commercial basal diet.

Chemical composition, % (dry matter basis)	Feeding period (0–23 days)
Crude protein	20.00
Crude fat	4.00
Calcium	0.75
Phosphorus	0.70
Crude fibre	6.00
Crude ash	8.00
Methionine + Cystine + DL-MHA	0.75
ME, Mcal/kg	3.00

DL-MHA: DL-methionine hydroxyl analogue; ME: metabolisable energy.

Table 2. PCR primers targeting the ITS-1 of E. tenella.

Species	Primer	Sequence (5′→ 3′)	Amplicon size	Annealing temp., °C
Eimeria tenella	ETF2	AATTTAGTCCATCGCAACCCTTG	278	65
	ETR	CGAGCGCTCTGCATACGACA

Figure 2. PCR amplification of genomic DNA using ITS-1 primers of E. tenella. M: 100 bp DNA ladder.

Figure 3. Oocysts shedding patterns of E. tenella in faeces. Note that the peak point of oocyst production for E. tenella is at 7 dpi.

Figure 4. Haematoxylin and eosin stained section of E. tenella infected caeca at 5 dpi (A), 7 dpi (B), and 9 dpi (C) (400×). Schizont is observed at 5 dpi. Oocyst is observed at 7 dpi. It is normal at 9 dpi. O: oocyst; S: schizont.

Table 3. Meat quality parameters and TBARS values of breast muscles of broiler chickens artificially infected with 1 × 10⁴ sporulated oocysts of E. tenella.

Parameters	Experimental groups	Days post infection, dpi
		5	7	9
pH	NIG	5.620 ± 0.020	5.570 ± 0.010	5.590 ± 0.020
	IG	5.620 ± 0.020^a	5.560 ± 0.020^ab	5.560 ± 0.010^b
Colour
L*	NIG	59.180 ± 1.650^a	54.670 ± 1.210^b	52.140 ± 0.550^b
	IG	54.910 ± 1.260	52.370 ± 0.690	53.540 ± 0.620
a*	NIG	0.110 ± 0.540^b	1.370 ± 0.290^a	0.340 ± 0.300^ab
	IG	−0.660 ± 0.410	−0.640 ± 0.130**	0.250 ± 0.330
b*	NIG	13.200 ± 0.960	13.520 ± 0.440	12.320 ± 0.440
	IG	11.500 ± 0.840	12.130 ± 0.620	12.500 ± 0.580
Cooking loss, %	NIG	22.210 ± 1.070^a	14.300 ± 0.950^b	15.700 ± 1.580^b
	IG	22.200 ± 0.930^a	12.360 ± 0.890^c	16.900 ± 0.720^b
TBARS, mgMDA/kg	NIG	0.370 ± 0.003^b	0.370 ± 0.005^b	0.380 ± 0.004^a
	IG	0.360 ± 0.007^b	0.390 ± 0.007^a,**	0.380 ± 0.004^ab

L*: lightness; a*: redness; b*: yellowness; TBARS: thiobarbituric acid reactive substance; NIG: non-infected group; IG: infected group

Mean values are presented as Mean ± SE. Values in a row with different superscript letters are significantly different (p < .05).

**p < .01, NIG vs. IG on t-test.

Table 4. Blood parameters of broiler chickens artificially infected with 1 × 10⁴ sporulated oocysts of E. tenella.

Parameters	Experimental groups	Days post infection, dpi
		5	7	9
GLU, mg/dL	NIG	220.90 ± 6.94^b	260.11 ± 6.40^a	272.22 ± 11.62^a
	IG	230.60 ± 10.32^b	239.70 ± 10.49^b	280.11 ± 12.23^a
TP, g/dL	NIG	2.40 ± 0.12	2.68 ± 0.14	2.54 ± 0.14
	IG	1.91 ± 0.12^b*	2.19 ± 0.20^b	2.76 ± 0.10^a
ALB, g/dL	NIG	0.85 ± 0.05	0.88 ± 0.06	0.84 ± 0.07
	IG	0.65 ± 0.05^b**	0.71 ± 0.07^b	0.90 ± 0.05^a
AST, IU/L	NIG	222.30 ± 11.92	253.89 ± 9.01	245.67 ± 21.44
	IG	197.90 ± 14.36^b	212.70 ± 13.87^b,*	265.22 ± 11.77^a
ALT, IU/L	NIG	3.70 ± 0.34	3.44 ± 0.50	3.33 ± 0.37
	IG	3.20 ± 0.33	3.00 ± 0.30	3.67 ± 0.44
TC, mg/dL	NIG	136.40 ± 5.14	145.11 ± 7.74	141.11 ± 7.11
	IG	108.50 ± 7.01^b**	124.30 ± 11.70^b	156.11 ± 10.32^a
TG, IU/L	NIG	26.60 ± 1.53	34.44 ± 3.24	28.33 ± 3.00
	IG	28.60 ± 2.23	24.80 ± 3.69	36.89 ± 5.95
HDL, mg/dL	NIG	93.80 ± 4.34	98.44 ± 5.58	100.33 ± 5.97
	IG	79.70 ± 6.21^b	86.80 ± 8.05^b	117.22 ± 7.14^a
LDL, mg/dL	NIG	8.70 ± 0.76	10.00 ± 1.01	10.33 ± 0.99
	IG	7.20 ± 0.57^b	7.60 ± 0.99^b	10.89 ± 0.86^a
UA, mg/dL	NIG	2.85 ± 0.36*	4.32 ± 0.69	4.98 ± 1.30
	IG	4.38 ± 0.54	3.16 ± 0.42	4.17 ± 0.62
CRE, mg/dL	NIG	0.25 ± 0.02	0.28 ± 0.02	0.31 ± 0.02
	IG	0.25 ± 0.02	0.28 ± 0.01	0.30 ± 0.02
BUN, mg/dL	NIG	38.62 ± 0.23	38.68 ± 0.11	38.16 ± 0.39
	IG	38.31 ± 0.15	38.27 ± 0.26	37.96 ± 0.41

NIG: non-infected group; IG: infected group; GLU: glucose; TP: total protein; ALB: albumin; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; TC: total cholesterol; TG: triglyceride; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; LDL: low density lipoprotein; UA: uric acid; CRE: creatinine; BUN: blood urea nitrogen.

Mean values are presented as Mean ± SE. Values in a row with different superscript letters are significantly different (p < .05).

*p < .05; **p < .01, NIG vs. IG on t-test.

Table 5. Fatty acid compositions in breast muscles of broiler chickens artificially infected with 1 × 10⁴ sporulated oocysts of E. tenella.

Fatty acid, %	Experimental groups	Days post infection, dpi
		5	7	9
Myristic (C14:0)	NIG	0.54 ± 0.01	0.57 ± 0.03	0.59 ± 0.03
	IG	0.57 ± 0.02	0.51 ± 0.04	0.57 ± 0.03
Myristoleic (C14:1)	NIG	0.09 ± 0.02	0.11 ± 0.02	0.14 ± 0.01*
	IG	0.10 ± 0.03	0.11 ± 0.01	0.08 ± 0.02
Palmitic (C16:0)	NIG	23.50 ± 0.28	23.72 ± 0.28	23.57 ± 0.27
	IG	26.35 ± 1.91	23.40 ± 0.42	23.53 ± 0.24
Palmitoleic (C16:1)	NIG	5.90 ± 0.38	6.45 ± 0.52	5.79 ± 0.34
	IG	6.70 ± 0.52	5.83 ± 0.37	5.82 ± 0.24
Stearic (C18:0)	NIG	8.92 ± 0.27	8.85 ± 0.24	9.10 ± 0.42
	IG	8.50 ± 0.34	8.89 ± 0.17	9.05 ± 0.21
Oleic (C18:1)	NIG	33.10 ± 0.83	32.55 ± 0.73	32.31 ± 0.62
	IG	33.37 ± 1.48	33.59 ± 1.12	32.40 ± 0.88
Vaccenic (C18:1)	NIG	3.41 ± 0.13	3.65 ± 0.18	3.42 ± 0.17
	IG	3.09 ± 0.31	2.99 ± 0.50	3.47 ± 0.15
Linoleic (C18:2)	NIG	17.86 ± 0.67	17.54 ± 1.11	18.20 ± 0.54
	IG	15.78 ± 0.79	18.20 ± 0.65	18.36 ± 0.72
Alpha-linolenic (C18:3)	NIG	0.52 ± 0.06	0.43 ± 0.03	0.45 ± 0.04
	IG	0.43 ± 0.03	0.47 ± 0.02	0.44 ± 0.02
Arachidic (C20:0)	NIG	0.01 ± 0.01	0.01 ± 0.01	0.01 ± 0.01
	IG	0.01 ± 0.01	0.01 ± 0.01	0.00 ± 0.00
Eicosenoic (C20:1)	NIG	0.64 ± 0.03	0.63 ± 0.03	0.63 ± 0.02
	IG	0.64 ± 0.03	0.60 ± 0.04	0.65 ± 0.02
Eicosadienoic (C20:2)	NIG	0.98 ± 0.05	0.97 ± 0.04	1.01 ± 0.06
	IG	0.90 ± 0.06	0.92 ± 0.08	1.03 ± 0.04
Arachidonic (C20:4)	NIG	3.85 ± 0.25*	3.92 ± 0.29	4.12 ± 0.34
	IG	2.97 ± 0.23	3.66 ± 0.33	3.98 ± 0.34
Eicosapentaenoic (C20:5)	NIG	0.24 ± 0.01	0.24 ± 0.01	0.26 ± 0.02
	IG	0.25 ± 0.02	0.46 ± 0.25	0.25 ± 0.02
Docosahexaenoic(C22:6)	NIG	0.36 ± 0.02	0.34 ± 0.02	0.34 ± 0.04
	IG	0.31 ± 0.03	0.29 ± 0.03	0.30 ± 0.02
Nervonic (C24:1)	NIG	0.06 ± 0.02	0.06 ± 0.02	0.06 ± 0.02
	IG	0.04 ± 0.02	0.06 ± 0.02	0.08 ± 0.02

Mean values are presented as Mean ± SE.

*p < .05, NIG vs. IG on t-test.

IG: infected group; NIG: non-infected group.

Table 6. Mineral contents in breast muscles of broiler chickens artificially infected with 1 × 10⁴ sporulated oocysts of E. tenella.

Parameters	Experimental groups	Days post infection, dpi
		5	7	9
Macro mineral, mg/g
Ca	NIG	0.07 ± 0.02^b	0.11 ± 0.01^b	0.17 ± 0.02^a
	IG	0.10 ± 0.01^a	0.02 ± 0.01^b,**	0.10 ± 0.02^a,*
Na	NIG	1.77 ± 0.19	1.94 ± 0.19	1.40 ± 0.13
	IG	1.22 ± 0.09^b,*	1.92 ± 0.09^a	1.21 ± 0.17^b
K	NIG	22.40 ± 0.64^a	22.73 ± 2.12^a	17.41 ± 0.37^b
	IG	17.39 ± 1.13**	20.37 ± 1.04	15.84 ± 1.57
Mg	NIG	0.94 ± 0.03^b	0.91 ± 0.04^b	1.07 ± 0.03^a
	IG	1.03 ± 0.02^a,*	0.71 ± 0.06^b,*	0.87 ± 0.09^a,b
Micro mineral, µg/g
Fe	NIG	13.27 ± 2.56	12.09 ± 5.87	3.48 ± 1.95
	IG	9.24 ± 2.46	19.32 ± 3.03	12.76 ± 9.06
Cu	NIG	0.00 ± 0.00^b	3.60 ± 0.99^a	4.93 ± 1.47^a
	IG	3.83 ± 3.83	0.00 ± 0.00**	2.36 ± 0.64
Zn	NIG	2.60 ± 1.27^b	15.50 ± 3.71^a	21.03 ± 2.95^a
	IG	4.75 ± 1.90^b	3.08 ± 1.50^b,**	15.22 ± 2.31^a

NIG: non-infected group; IG: infected group; Ca: calcium; Na: sodium; K: potassium; Mg: magnesium; Fe: iron; Cu: copper; Zn: zinc.

Mean values are presented as Mean ± SE. Values in a row with different superscript letters are significantly different (p < .05).

*p < .05; **p < .01, NIG vs. IG on t-test.