Effect of dietary oil seeds on n-3 fatty acid enrichment, performance parameters and humoral immune response of broiler chickens

A 42-day study was conducted to evaluate the influence of full-fat flaxseed (FS) and canola seed (CS) on broiler performance, fatty acid (FA) profile of meat, serum lipid content and antibody response to sheep red blood cells antigen (SR-BC). A total of 324 one-day-old chicks were attributed to 6 experimental groups. C: control (soybean-corn); CS 1:7.5% CS; CS2:15% CS; CS-FS: 10% FS + 10% CS; FS 1:7.5% FS; FS2:15% FS. The diets containing FS and CS had a significant negative effect on performance parameters (P<0.01), however, feed consumption was not significantly (P>0.05) different among treatments. Inclusion of FS and CS significantly increased (P<0.01) the concentration of omega-3 FA and decreased the content of the arachidonic acid and n-6:n-3 polyunsaturated FA ratio. The serum lipid content and antibody titre against SRBC were not affected by dietary oil seeds (P>0.05).