Effect of the addition of glycosaminoglycans on bone and cartilaginous development of broiler chickens

Effects of dietary glucosamine sulfate sodium on early laying performance and eggshell quality of laying hens

This study was conducted to determine the influence of dietary glucosamine sulfate sodium (GSS) on laying performance, blood profiles, eggshell and inner quality of eggs and relative expression of the genes related to eggshell in laying hens at early stage. A total of 640 twenty-weeks-old Lohmann laying hens were randomly allotted to 4 treatments with 10 replicates of 16 hens each. The experiment lasted for 8 wk, and dietary treatments were: 1) CON, basal diet; 2) G1, CON + 0.2% GSS; 3) G2, CON + 0.4% GSS; 4) G3, CON + 0.6% GSS. The inclusion of GSS increased average daily feed intake, laying rate, and egg mass (P < 0.05) linearly during wk 21 to 25, 25 to 29, and 21 to 29, egg weight during wk 21 to 25 and 25 to 29, and improved (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio linearly during wk 21 to 25. The supplementation of GSS increased (P < 0.05) albumen height quadratically, Haugh unit, calcium content, calcium mass, phosphorus content and phosphorus mass linearly at the end of 25th and 29th wk. At the end of 29th wk, the eggshell strength, eggshell weight, eggshell ratio, and eggshell thickness were increased (P < 0.05) linearly in GSS treatments compared with CON. The addition of GSS increased (P < 0.05) serum calcium, estrogen 2, and calcitonin, while decreased (P < 0.05) serum tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), parathormone, IL-6 and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) at the end of 29th wk. The inclusion of GSS increased (P < 0.05) the relative expression of ovocalyxin-32 and ovocalyxin-36 linearly at the end of 29th wk, and ovalbumin, osteopontin, calbindin 1, and ovocleidin-116 linearly at the end of 25th and 29th wk. Quadratic effects were observed (P < 0.05) in the laying rate during wk 21 to 25, serum TRAP and PGE2, the relative expression of ovocleidin-116 at the end of 29th wk. In summary, the inclusion of GSS up-regulated relative expression of osteopontin, ovocleidin-116, ovocalyxin-32 and ovocalyxin-36 in uterus, promoted the serum PGE2 and calcitonin, thus increased the calcium content of eggshell and finally enhanced eggshell quality.

Effect of glycosaminoglycans on the structure and composition of articular cartilage and bone of broilers

This study aimed to assess the influence of glycosaminoglycan (chondroitin and glucosamine sulfates) supplementation in the diet of broilers on the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) and metallopeptidase inhibitor 2 (TIMP-2) genes, the synthesis of proteoglycans, collagen type II and chondrocytes, bone and cartilage macroscopy, bone mineral densitometry, bone breaking strength and mineral profile. A completely randomized design was carried out in a 3 × 3 factorial scheme (3 levels of chondroitin sulfate: 0.00, 0.05, and 0.10%; and 3 levels of glucosamine sulfate: 0.00, 0.15, and 0.30%), totaling 9 treatments. At 21 and 42 d of age, broilers were slaughtered, and tibias and femurs were collected for evaluation. There was an interaction (P < 0.05) of sulfates for the expression of MMP-9 and its inhibitor TIMP-2 in femur articular cartilage, as well as for the number of chondrocytes, collagen type II and proteoglycans in tibia articular cartilage, bone and cartilage macroscopy and mineral profile (P < 0.05), with better results obtained with the inclusion of chondroitin and/or glucosamine sulfates in the feed. In conclusion, chondroitin and glucosamine sulfates can be used in broiler diets in order to favor the development of the structure of the locomotor system (bones and joints), thus preventing locomotion problems.

Comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of the effect of feed restriction on duck sternal development

Skeletal characteristics are important to the growth and development of poultry. In feeding management, constant free feeding (FF) of poultry may lead to imbalance between bone development and weight gain. Feed restriction (FR), to a certain extent, is one way to solve this problem. However, the effect of feed restriction on poultry bone development needs further elucidation at the molecular level. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the effects of different levels of feed restriction (60% FR, 70% FR, 80% FR, and FF) on the sternum development of ducks at 7 and 8 wk old. In the seventh wk, with increasing feed restriction, the values of traits including body weight, breast muscle weight, sternal weight, keel length, and calcified keel length decreased. However, in the eighth wk, the sternum weight and keel length of ducks treated with 60% FR were unexpectedly higher than those of FF individuals, indicative of catch-up growth. Then, we conducted RNA-seq and metabolomic analysis on sterna from 7- and 8-wk-old FF and 60% FR ducks. The results identified multiple differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with sternum development that were influenced by feed restriction. Among them, we found that the mRNA expression levels of the chondroitin sulfate synthase 3 (CHSY3) and annexin A2 (ANXA2) which are involved in glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis and bone mineralization, had smaller changes over time under FR treatment than under FF treatment, implying that the FR treatment to a certain extent prevented the premature calcification and prolonged the development time of duck sternum. In addition, the metabolomic and integrative analyses revealed that several antiaging-related metabolites and genes were associated with sternal catch-up growth. Pyrimidine metabolism was identified as the most significant pathway in which most differential metabolites (DMs) between FF and 60% FR were enriched. The results from integrative analysis revealed that the content and expression of 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and its related genes showed relatively higher activity in the 60% FR group than in the FF group. The present study identifies multiple biomarkers associated with duck sternum development that are influenced by feed restriction and suggests the potential mechanism of feed restriction-associated duck sternal catch-up growth.

Dietary supplementation with glycosaminoglycans reduces locomotor problems in broiler chickens

This study aimed to assess the influence of glycosaminoglycan (chondroitin and glucosamine sulfates) supplementation in the diet on the performance and incidence of locomotor problems in broiler chickens. A completely randomized design was carried out in a 3 × 3 factorial scheme (3 levels of chondroitin sulfate -0, 0.05, and 0.10%; and 3 levels of glucosamine sulfate -0, 0.15, and 0.30%). Each treatment was composed of 6 replications of 30 broilers each. The performance of broilers (average weight, weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion, and productive viability) was assessed at 7, 21, 35, and 42 d of age, whereas the gait score, valgus and varus deviations, femoral degeneration, and tibial dyschondroplasia were assessed at 21 and 42 d of age. Increasing levels of glucosamine sulfate inclusion linearly increased the weight gain from 1 to 35 and from 1 to 42 d of age of broilers (P = 0.047 and P = 0.039, respectively), frequency of broilers with no femoral degeneration in the right and left femurs, and the proliferating cartilage area of proximal epiphysis at 42 d of age (P = 0.014, P < 0.0001, and P = 0.028, respectively). The increasing inclusion of chondroitin and glucosamine sulfates led to an increase in the frequency of broilers on the gait score scale 0 (P = 0.007 and P = 0.0001, respectively) and frequency of broilers with no valgus and varus deviations (P = 0.014 and P = 0.0002, respectively) also at 42 d of age. Thus, chondroitin and glucosamine sulfates can be used in the diet of broiler chickens to reduce their locomotor problems.

Glycosaminoglycans and vitamin C affect broiler bone parameters

The purpose of this study was to determine if in ovo feeding and rearing with glycosaminoglycans and vitamin C could influence bone and cartilage macroscopy, mineral composition, mineral density and surface area, bone breaking strength, and bone histology in broilers. Fertile eggs from breeders (Cobb) were either uninjected or injected with 4 μg of additive/100 μL water on day 4 of incubation. Every 100 g of in ovo additive contained 30 g of chondroitin sulfate, 30 g of glucosamine, and 5 g of vitamin C. After hatching, the chicks from both incubation treatments were submitted to additional treatments during the growth phase from 1 to 42 D of age (diet without and with 0.74 g of additive/kg of feed). Every 100 kg of feed contained 30 g of glucosamine sulfate, 24 g of chondroitin sulfate, and 20 g of vitamin C. A completely randomized factorial design (2 × 2) was applied. The data were submitted to variance analysis using the general linear model procedure of SAS (SAS Institute). In ovo feeding with 4 μg of additive plus dietary supplementation with 0.74 g of additive/kg of feed resulted in the highest cartilage weight of the femur proximal epiphysis in birds (P = 0.0098). The highest ash, phosphorus and calcium percentage, mineral density and mineral composition were identified for femur and tibia in the following treatments: in ovo feeding plus diet without additive during rearing, or uninjected eggs plus dietary supplementation during rearing. In ovo feeding with 4 μg of the additive reduced (P = 0.0008) the number of chondrocytes in the proximal epiphysis of the tibia cartilage and increased (P < 0.0001) the number of osteocytes in the tibia diaphysis of broilers. We conclude that in ovo feeding or dietary supplementation during broiler rearing with glycosaminoglycans (chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine sulfate) and vitamin C benefits the development of bird bones and cartilage, and may represent a solution to bone problems in broilers.

Glycosaminoglycans from fresh water fish processing discard - Isolation, structural characterization, and osteogenic activity

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) play an important role in various biological activities. A lot of them are present in fish processing discards from abattoirs and fish processing industries which can serve as a valuable source of GAGs. We have, in this paper, isolated and characterized GAGs from fish processing discard (head) generated from the processing of Labeo rohita (L. rohita) and Piaractus brachypomus (P. brachypomus) and have determined their ability to promote osteogenic activity. Isolated GAGs showed higher amounts of chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) than heparan sulfate (HS). CS/DS from both the fish have a distinct disaccharide composition indicating differences in their structure. Biological activity, in terms of promoting osteogenesis, evaluated in MC3T3-E1 cells and primary cells of the calvaria showed that early mineralization, characterized by alkaline phosphatase staining and activity, and late mineralization, was supported by both the GAGs.

Effects of dietary calcium and phosphorus levels and supplementation of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol on performance and bone properties of broiler starters

To investigate effects of dietary calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) levels and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25OHD₃) supplementation on performance and bone properties of broiler starters, 224 male Arbor Acre broilers were used in a 21-d trial. Broilers were allotted to one of four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement including diets either normal or low in Ca and P, which were further supplemented or not with 69 μg 25OHD₃/kg feed. Feeding low Ca and P diets significantly reduced performance of boilers and decreased ash, Ca, P and hydroxyproline contents in tibias and femurs (p < 0.05). Ultimate load, bending moment, stiffness and energy to fail were decreased (p < 0.05) in broilers fed diets deficient in Ca and P. Addition of 25OHD₃ did not influence performance but significantly increased serum 25OHD₃ levels. Furthermore, the addition of 25OHD₃ caused an increased tibial and femoral bone density and femoral hydroxyproline content (p < 0.05), increased bending moment in tibias (p < 0.05), and enhanced ultimate load and bending moment in femurs (p < 0.05). No significant interactions were observed for bone properties. Overall, feeding 25OHD₃ at 69 μg/kg feed to broilers had no effect on growth performance but partly improved bone biochemical and biomechanical properties of broiler starters.