Dietary safflower seed oil supplementation modulates antiviral immunity in specific-pathogen-free chickens infected with fowl adenovirus serotype 8a.
- 1College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, PR China; Division of Avian Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, 150001, PR China.
- 2Division of Avian Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, 150001, PR China.
- 3College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract
Fowl adenovirus serotype 8a (FAdV-8a) is an important cause of inclusion body hepatitis in chickens, but nutritional strategies for enhancing host resistance remain poorly characterized. This study evaluated whether dietary supplementation with safflower seed oil affected growth performance, viral burden, and immune responses in specific-pathogen-free chickens infected with FAdV-8a. Chickens received a basal diet containing 1% corn oil or the same diet containing 1% safflower seed oil and were inoculated oculonasally with 10⁶ TCID₅₀ of the low-virulence FAdV-8a strain JL/170408 at 21 d of age. Safflower seed oil increased average daily gain during days 1-21 and average daily feed intake during days 1-21 and 21-45, without affecting feed conversion ratio. The safflower seed oil group developed an earlier antibody peak (12 vs. 16 dpi) and generally higher antibody levels. Hepatic viral DNA loads were lower in safflower seed oil-fed birds at 3 and 7 dpi, whereas differences in viral DNA loads in other tissues were limited. Safflower seed oil also produced tissue- and time-dependent changes in avian β-defensins, Toll-like receptors, cytokines, antioxidant-related genes, NF-κB signaling molecules, PPAR-γ, CD4, and CD8. Overall, safflower seed oil supplementation was associated with improved early growth, enhanced FAdV-specific antibody responses, lower hepatic viral DNA loads, and broad transcriptional changes in immune- and antioxidant-related pathways. These findings support a modulatory effect of safflower seed oil on antiviral immune responses, while the underlying mechanisms require direct functional validation.
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BibTeX
@article{zuo2026dietary,
title = {{Dietary safflower seed oil supplementation modulates antiviral immunity in specific-pathogen-free chickens infected with fowl adenovirus serotype 8a.}},
author = {Zhihui Zuo and Bing Wang and Tianyu Wu and Xin Wang and Zongxi Han and Huixin Li and Deying Ma},
journal = {Poultry science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.psj.2026.107931},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42868852},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dietary safflower seed oil supplementation modulates antiviral immunity in specific-pathogen-free chickens infected with fowl adenovirus serotype 8a.
AU - Zhihui Zuo
AU - Bing Wang
AU - Tianyu Wu
AU - Xin Wang
AU - Zongxi Han
AU - Huixin Li
AU - Deying Ma
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Poultry science
DO - 10.1016/j.psj.2026.107931
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42868852
AB - Fowl adenovirus serotype 8a (FAdV-8a) is an important cause of inclusion body hepatitis in chickens, but nutritional strategies for enhancing host resistance remain poorly characterized. This study evaluated whether dietary supplementation with safflower seed oil affected growth performance, viral burden, and immune responses in specific-pathogen-free chickens infected with FAdV-8a. Chickens received a basal diet containing 1% corn oil or the same diet containing 1% safflower seed oil and were inoculated oculonasally with 10⁶ TCID₅₀ of the low-virulence FAdV-8a strain JL/170408 at 21 d of age. Safflower seed oil increased average daily gain during days 1-21 and average daily feed intake during days 1-21 and 21-45, without affecting feed conversion ratio. The safflower seed oil group developed an earlier antibody peak (12 vs. 16 dpi) and generally higher antibody levels. Hepatic viral DNA loads were lower in safflower seed oil-fed birds at 3 and 7 dpi, whereas differences in viral DNA loads in other tissues were limited. Safflower seed oil also produced tissue- and time-dependent changes in avian β-defensins, Toll-like receptors, cytokines, antioxidant-related genes, NF-κB signaling molecules, PPAR-γ, CD4, and CD8. Overall, safflower seed oil supplementation was associated with improved early growth, enhanced FAdV-specific antibody responses, lower hepatic viral DNA loads, and broad transcriptional changes in immune- and antioxidant-related pathways. These findings support a modulatory effect of safflower seed oil on antiviral immune responses, while the underlying mechanisms require direct functional validation.
SN - 0032-5791
SN - 1525-3171
ER -