{"id":45355,"date":"2025-04-16T09:24:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T07:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nutrex.eu\/insights\/understanding-oxidative-damage-in-poultry\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T12:40:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T10:40:48","slug":"understanding-oxidative-damage-in-poultry","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/www.nutrex.eu\/en-eu\/insights\/understanding-oxidative-damage-in-poultry\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the impact of oxidative damage on poultry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Experiencing suboptimal performance in your poultry?
Oxidative stress may be the underlying cause<\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Improving health and resilience by stimulating their antioxidant defenses\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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Intensive production systems expose animals to stressors<\/strong> like heat, pathogens, and toxins, leading to oxidative stress<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/strong> – an imbalance between antioxidants and reactive oxygen species (ROS)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This damages cells and tissues, triggers energy-draining inflammation, and hinders growth and production<\/strong>. Minimizing oxidative stress is key to improving animal welfare, performance, product quality, and farm profitability.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Triggers of oxidative stress

Why is oxidative stress more common in intensive production systems?<\/p><\/h2>\n \n

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Today\u2019s intensive production systems<\/strong> put enormous pressure on the natural antioxidant defense system,<\/strong> creating a complex and <\/strong>multifactorial challenge<\/strong>. Various stress factors can induce ROS overproduction, causing imbalance with antioxidants (Figure 1).<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/span>For instance, poultry kept in intensive production systems <\/span>are more susceptible to pathogens<\/strong> such as coccidiosis, influenza, and infections from E. coli<\/em> or Salmonella<\/em>. Environmental factors<\/strong> such as high temperatures and high stocking densities further challenge the balance, potentially resulting in heat stress.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Additionally, increased feed intake can elevate metabolic rates<\/strong>, leading to an excessive generation of ROS molecules, which is especially pronounced in unbalanced diets or poor-quality diets, such as feed containing partially oxidized fats or oils.<\/p>\n

Moreover, animals<\/strong> in intensive production settings are more exposed to endo- and mycotoxins<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/strong>, which further aggravate oxidative damage.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Figure 1: Stress factors in intensive production that cause overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in an imbalance with antioxidants and oxidative stress.<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\t\t\n
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The consequences of oxidative stress <\/b><\/p>

How oxidative damage undermines production efficiency in poultry farming?<\/p><\/b><\/h2>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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 <\/p>\n

Oxidative stress plays a major role in animal’s overall health and productivity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It stems from an imbalance between antioxidant defenses and reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in damage to cells and tissues. This imbalance has profound implications for poultry<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/strong>, affecting growth, immune function, organ health, and reproductive capacity while leading to economic losses for farmers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Oxidative imbalance can also lead to various long-term health issues <\/strong>such as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, metabolic and behavioral disorders<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/span>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t\t

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\u26a0\ufe0f PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH OXIDATIVE STRESS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n