The effects of dietary copper supplementation on oxidative and antioxidant systems in broiler chickens

This study was designed to investigate the in vivo effects of dietary copper supplementation on the oxidative and antioxidant systems in the erythrocyte and liver of broiler chickens. Birds were exposed to commercially prepared diet (control group, n= 20) or commercial diet supplemented with 250 mg CuSO4/kg diet (experimental group, n= 20) for 6 weeks. The copper burdens, oxidative lipid peroxidation (LPO), glutathione (GSH) concentration, activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated in the erythrocyte and hepatic tissues using well established techniques. Oral exposure to copper for a period of 6 weeks significantly (p<0.05) increased the copper burden and lipid peroxidation respectively in the blood and liver of treated birds compared with control. Concomitantly, there was a significant reduction (p