In-house ammonia induced lung impairment and oxidative stress of ducks.

Abstract

Ammonia (NH) is a toxic gas that in intensive poultry houses, damages the poultry health and induces various diseases. This study investigated the effects of NHexposure (0, 15, 30, and 45 ppm) on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, antioxidative indicators, tracheal and lung impairments in Pekin ducks. A total of 288 one-day-old Pekin male ducks were randomly allocated to 4 groups with 6 replicates and slaughtered after the 21-d test period. Our results showed that 45 ppm NHsignificantly reduced the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of Pekin ducks. Ammonia exposure significantly reduced liver, lung, kidney, and heart indexes, and lowered the relative weight of the ileum. With the increasing of in-house NH, serum NHand uric acid (UA) concentrations of ducks were significantly increased, as well as liver malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX-Px) contents. High NHalso induced trachea and lung injury, thereby increasing levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the lung, and decreasing the mRNA expressions of zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1) and claudin 3 (CLDN3) in the lung. In conclusion, in-house NHdecrease the growth performance in ducks, induce trachea and lung injuries and meanwhile increase the compensatory antioxidant activity for host protection.