Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (11): 5912-5924.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.11.046

• Clinical Veterinary Medicine • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of Exogenous Melatonin Intervention on Corticosterone Synthesis in Broilers under Chronic Heat Stress Conditions

KANG Xin1(), XU Xiangyang1, HAN Aige1, SONG Fei1, RUI Huiyuan1, JIANG Xiaowen1,3, GE Ming1,3, YU Wenhui1,2,*()   

  1. 1. College of Animal Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
    2. Chinese Veterinary Research Institute of Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
    3. Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of Animal Comparative Medicine and Pathogenesis, Harbin 150030, China
  • Received:2025-02-06 Online:2025-11-23 Published:2025-11-27
  • Contact: YU Wenhui E-mail:1120064738@qq.com;yuwenhui@neau.edu.cn

Abstract:

Chronic heat stress seriously affects the production performance of poultry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of exogenous melatonin (Mel) on the synthesis and secretion of corticosterone in broilers under chronic heat stress, and to provide a theoretical basis for melatonin to alleviate chronic heat stress. Ninety 2-week-old broilers were randomly divided into 6 groups: normal control group (CON), chronic heat stress (HS) group, melatonin intervention group: CONH (2.0 mg·kg-1) group, HSL (0.5 mg·kg-1) group, HSM (1.0 mg·kg-1) group, HSH (2.0 mg·kg-1) group. The experiment lasted for 21 days. Results: Chronic heat stress resulted in a decrease in broiler performance and a significant increase in serum corticosterone content, while the performance of broilers treated with 0.5 mg·kg-1 Mel was significantly improved (P < 0.001), and the feed-to-weight ratio of broilers in the HSH group was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation with 0.5-2.0 mg·kg-1 Mel significantly reduced serum corticosterone content in broilers under chronic heat stress (P < 0.000 1). In addition, Mel could effectively improve the decrease of reduced glutathione (GSH) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity caused by chronic heat stress. The network pharmacology analysis showed that Mel intervention in chronic heat stress was enriched in the cAMP signaling pathway. It was detected that the mechanism of Mel was related to the melatonin receptor MT1, and by inhibiting the cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway, the synthesis and secretion of adrenocortical ketone were weakened, and the stress response was alleviated.

Key words: broiler chicken, chronic heat stress, corticosterone, exogenous melatonin, adrenal gland

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