April 20, 2023

Interpretive Summary: An investigation of the effect of folic acid and its delivery routes on broiler chickens’ hatch and growth performance, blood biochemistry, anti-oxidant status, and intestinal morphology

Interpretive Summary: An investigation of the effect of folic acid and its delivery routes on broiler chickens’ hatch and growth performance, blood biochemistry, anti-oxidant status, and intestinal morphology

By: Samson Oladokun, Deborah Adewole

Folic acid (FA) is an essential vitamin with anti-oxidant and growth-promoting properties. Notwithstanding, studies have shown that, like other bioactive substances, its efficacy can be affected by dosage and delivery routes. However, the in ovo delivery of bioactive substances directly to the developing embryo continues to show promising results in poultry production. Consequently, this study evaluated the effect of two doses of in ovo-delivered folic acid on selected broiler chicken performance indicators. The results revealed that both doses of in ovo-delivered FA decreased hatchability. However, the higher dose increased hatched chick’s weight. The higher dose of the in ovo-delivered FA also increased broiler chicken intestinal morphology while showing a tendency to improve anti-oxidant activities.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.