Abstract

LAZARO DE LA TORRE, César Aquiles et al. Effect of metronidazole in broiler chickens with ascitic syndrome. Rev Salud Anim. [online]. 2013, vol.35, n.1, pp. 45-51. ISSN 0253-570X.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of metronidazole on levels of NO , hemoglobin, hematocrit, heart rate, body weight and mortality in broiler with ascitic syndrome induced by high altitude. Three hundred broilers chickens were used and distributed in three groups: Sea level (raised at sea level), Altitude (raised at 3320 masl) and Altitude-metronidazole (raised at 3320 masl and supplemented with 0.1% metronidazole). Broiler chickens were bred 42 days under similar conditions. During this period, the body weight and the mortality were evaluated. Each week, seven broilers from each group were used to collect blood samples for nitric oxide (NO), hematocrit, and hemoglobin determination. The hearts were dissected for cardiac rate evaluation. The Altitude-metronidazole group showed a significant increase to nitric oxide levels in the first 21 days of the experiment, an improvement in body weight and a significant reduction of mortality related to the ascitic syndrome, compared with the Altitude group. However, none of these groups showed better results compared with that of the Sea level group, which demonstrated the best averages in body weight and no mortality related to the ascitic syndrome. The other parameters evaluated showed no significant alterations. These results suggest that metronidazole has a beneficial effect in the control of the ascitic syndrome in broiler chickens and could be considered as a nitric oxide donor.

Keywords : poultry; ascites; nitric oxide; metronidazole.

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