How Chicken Feed with Dihydroartemisinin Affects Growth and Health

Scientists ran a test to see how adding dihydroartemisinin to chicken feed might affect how fast chickens grow and the quality of their meat. They used 400 one-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers, dividing them into five groups with different amounts of dihydroartemisinin in their feed: 0, 5, 10, 20, or 40 milligrams per kilogram. During the first 21 days, chickens eating feed with 10 mg/kg of dihydroartemisinin grew faster and ate more. It also helped keep their meat from losing too much water after slaughter. The meat color changed a bit, and it had less of a chemical called malondialdehyde (MDA) after 5 and 7 days of storage. This is good because too much MDA can make meat go bad faster.

After 21 days, the chickens eating feed with 20 mg/kg of dihydroartemisinin had more of an antioxidant called glutathione in their blood and liver. Antioxidants help fight oxidative stress, which can hurt cells. The chickens also had less MDA in their blood and liver, and more of an enzyme called catalase, which also fights oxidative stress. After 42 days, the chickens eating feed with 20 mg/kg of dihydroartemisinin still had more catalase and less MDA in their liver. They also had higher levels of another antioxidant-related gene called Nrf2 in their liver. Chickens eating 10 and 20 mg/kg of dihydroartemisinin had more of a gene related to another antioxidant enzyme called HO-1. So, adding dihydroartemisinin to chicken feed, especially at 10 and 20 mg/kg, can help chickens grow faster and keep their meat fresh longer. It also boosts their body's ability to fight against cell damage.

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