Effects of Pre-Slaughter Dietary Supplementation with a Phytogenic Additive Containing Passiflora incarnata and Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni Extracts on Oxidative Status, Inflammatory Responses, Carcass Quality, Meat Composition, and Bone Morphology in Broilers.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, 06110 Ankara, Türkiye.
- 2Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selçuk University, 42003 Konya, Türkiye.
- 3Department of Research and Development, HasTavuk, 10600 Balıkesir, Türkiye.
- 4Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, 06110 Ankara, Türkiye.
- 5Animal Nutrition Science Association, 06420 Ankara, Türkiye.
- 6Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, 06110 Ankara, Türkiye.
Abstract
Background
The final days before slaughter represent one of the most stressful periods in commercial broiler production, during which acute stress stimulates endocrine, oxidative, and inflammatory responses that may compromise animal welfare and slaughter outcomes. This study evaluated the effects of short-term dietary supplementation with a phytogenic additive containing Passiflora incarnata and Stevia rebaudiana extracts (Passiflora-Stevia phytogenic additive; PSPA) during the final five days before slaughter on carcass characteristics, physiological stress, oxidative status, inflammatory responses, tissue composition, and bone morphology in broilers.Methods
A total of 106,240 Ross 308 broilers were assigned to either a control group or a PSPA-supplemented group (1 kg/t) during the final five days before slaughter (days 38-42). Carcass characteristics, breast muscle and liver composition, serum corticosterone, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress biomarkers, and bone morphology using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics were evaluated.Results
PSPA supplementation significantly reduced serum IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, corticosterone, total oxidant status, and oxidative stress index, while increasing IL-10 concentrations (p < 0.05). Total antioxidant status was unaffected. After adjustment for pre-slaughter live weight, carcass weight was significantly higher in the PSPA group (p = 0.002), whereas carcass yield remained unchanged. PSPA-treated broilers also showed favorable numerical trends in carcass quality, including a higher proportion of Grade A carcasses and fewer carcass defects, although these differences were not statistically significant. Breast muscle and liver composition were unaffected, and only limited treatment-related differences were detected in bone morphology.Conclusions
Short-term PSPA supplementation improved physiological resilience by attenuating corticosterone secretion, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses before slaughter. Although carcass quality was not significantly altered, the favorable numerical trends and improved physiological biomarkers suggest that targeted preslaughter phytogenic supplementation may represent a practical nutritional strategy to mitigate preslaughter stress in broiler chickens. Longer-term studies are warranted to determine whether these physiological benefits translate into improvements in bone characteristics and slaughter outcomes.
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BibTeX
@article{onbasılar2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Pre-Slaughter Dietary Supplementation with a Phytogenic Additive Containing Passiflora incarnata and Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni Extracts on Oxidative Status, Inflammatory Responses, Carcass Quality, Meat Composition, and Bone Morphology in Broilers.}},
author = {Esin Ebru Onbaşılar and Suzan Yalçın and Kıvılcım Ateş Çakıroğlu and Barış Batur and Sakine Yalçın and İhsan Berat Kılıçlı and Caner Bakıcı and Gülcan Avcıoğlu},
journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ani16192980},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882949},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of Pre-Slaughter Dietary Supplementation with a Phytogenic Additive Containing Passiflora incarnata and Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni Extracts on Oxidative Status, Inflammatory Responses, Carcass Quality, Meat Composition, and Bone Morphology in Broilers.
AU - Esin Ebru Onbaşılar
AU - Suzan Yalçın
AU - Kıvılcım Ateş Çakıroğlu
AU - Barış Batur
AU - Sakine Yalçın
AU - İhsan Berat Kılıçlı
AU - Caner Bakıcı
AU - Gülcan Avcıoğlu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
JO - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
DO - 10.3390/ani16192980
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882949
AB - Background The final days before slaughter represent one of the most stressful periods in commercial broiler production, during which acute stress stimulates endocrine, oxidative, and inflammatory responses that may compromise animal welfare and slaughter outcomes. This study evaluated the effects of short-term dietary supplementation with a phytogenic additive containing Passiflora incarnata and Stevia rebaudiana extracts (Passiflora-Stevia phytogenic additive; PSPA) during the final five days before slaughter on carcass characteristics, physiological stress, oxidative status, inflammatory responses, tissue composition, and bone morphology in broilers.Methods A total of 106,240 Ross 308 broilers were assigned to either a control group or a PSPA-supplemented group (1 kg/t) during the final five days before slaughter (days 38-42). Carcass characteristics, breast muscle and liver composition, serum corticosterone, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress biomarkers, and bone morphology using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics were evaluated.Results PSPA supplementation significantly reduced serum IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, corticosterone, total oxidant status, and oxidative stress index, while increasing IL-10 concentrations (p < 0.05). Total antioxidant status was unaffected. After adjustment for pre-slaughter live weight, carcass weight was significantly higher in the PSPA group (p = 0.002), whereas carcass yield remained unchanged. PSPA-treated broilers also showed favorable numerical trends in carcass quality, including a higher proportion of Grade A carcasses and fewer carcass defects, although these differences were not statistically significant. Breast muscle and liver composition were unaffected, and only limited treatment-related differences were detected in bone morphology.Conclusions Short-term PSPA supplementation improved physiological resilience by attenuating corticosterone secretion, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses before slaughter. Although carcass quality was not significantly altered, the favorable numerical trends and improved physiological biomarkers suggest that targeted preslaughter phytogenic supplementation may represent a practical nutritional strategy to mitigate preslaughter stress in broiler chickens. Longer-term studies are warranted to determine whether these physiological benefits translate into improvements in bone characteristics and slaughter outcomes.
SN - 2076-2615
ER -