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The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by The Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency, grant numbers: P4-0097 and P4-0053.

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Leskovec, JakobAuthor
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Interactive effects of high n-3 PUFA intake and cyclic heat stress under two dietary antioxidant levels in broiler chickens

Publicated to:Frontiers In Physiology. 16 1594095- - 2025-04-24 16(), DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1594095

Authors: Rezar, Vida; Pal, Manca Pecjak; Levart, Alenka; Svete, Alenka Nemec; Pirman, Tatjana; Salobir, Janez; Leskovec, Jakob

Affiliations

Inst Food & Agr Res & Technol IRTA, Anim Nutr, Tarragona, Spain - Author
Univ Ljubljana, Biotech Fac, Dept Anim Sci, Ljubljana, Slovenia - Author
Univ Ljubljana, Vet Fac, Clin Surg & Small Anim Med, Ljubljana, Slovenia - Author

Abstract

The study examined the combined effects of a diet high in n-3 PUFAs and cyclic heat stress (HS) considering two levels of dietary antioxidants. A total of 192 one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were divided into eight groups in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design: thermoneutral (TN) or heat-stressed (34 degrees C +/- 1 degrees C for 7 h/day from day 22) x fed a diet low in antioxidants (NRC group) or high in antioxidants (HAOX group; supplemented with a mixture of 200 IU/kg vitamin E, 250 mg/kg vitamin C and 0.15 mg/kg selenium) and supplemented or not with 5% linseed oil, forming the NRC N-3 and HAOX N-3 groups. High intake of n-3 PUFAs increased plasma F2-isoprostane and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Cyclic HS decreased final body weight (BW) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) and increased DNA damage and serum corticosterone (CORT) levels. In addition, the changes in blood biochemistry indicated that the broilers were undergoing respiratory alkalosis. Interactions between n-3 PUFAs and HS were observed in liver MDA levels, plasma gamma-tocopherol levels and serum alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity. Antioxidants increased blood levels of alpha-tocopherol, vitamin C, lipid- and water-soluble antioxidants and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, while decreasing MDA, F2-isoprostane, CORT and AP levels. High intake of n-3 PUFA in combination with cyclic HS had negative effects on the health status of the broilers, which were alleviated by additional antioxidant supplementation.

Keywords
Alpha-tocopherolCyclic heat stressEssential oilGrowth-performanceIn-vivoLaying henLipid-peroxidationN-3 pufaOxidative stressSeleniumSerum metabolitesVitaminVitamin cVitamin-eWood extract

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Frontiers In Physiology due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 24/85, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Physiology. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría .

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-23:

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Slovenia.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: Last Author (LESKOVEC, JAKOB).