L-Arginine and antioxidant vitamins E and C improve the cardiovascular performance of broiler chickens grown under chronic hypobaric hypoxia

Two hundred broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments: control [CTL; 3,200 kcal of ME/kg, 23% CP, 1.55% Arg, and 40 IU of vitamin E (VE)/kg of feed], high-Arg (HA; CTL + 0.8% Arg), or high-Arg and high antioxidant-vitamin diet (AEC; HA + 200 IU of VE/kg of feed and 500 mg of vitamin C/L of water). The chicks were housed in wire cages in hypobaric chambers simulating 3,000 m above sea level. From d 28 to 42, clinically healthy birds were selected for cardiovascular performance (n = 7 to 12/treatment). After surgery, pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) readings were taken at 180, 120, and 60 s (basal values) before an epinephrine (EPI) challenge and then at 30, 60, 120, 180, 300, 600, and 1,200 s after the challenge, followed by a second EPI challenge with similar sample readings. There were no differences in the basal PAP values among chicken groups. The PAP increased within 30 s after both EPI challenges in all groups. It took 180 s after the first EPI challenge for the CTL chickens to return to the basal PAP values, whereas HA and AEC chickens returned to basal PAP values in 120 s. After the second EPI challenge, it took 60, 180, and 300 s for the AEC, HA, and CTL groups, respectively, to return to basal PAP values. The MAP response pattern to the EPI challenges mimicked that of PAP, but there were no differences among treatments in MAP at any sampling point. Supplemental Arg, VE, and vitamin C did not reduce ascites incidence in hypoxic broilers. In conclusion, supplemental Arg improved the pulmonary vascular performance of hypoxic broiler chickens and its effects were further improved by the addition of the antioxidant VE and vitamin C. Arginine and antioxidant vitamins may have played synergistic roles to increase NO bioavailability and reduce oxidative stress damage, thus improving cardiopulmonary performance.