Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Histol Histopathol. 2011 Jun;26(6):699-710. doi: 10.14670/HH-26.699.
The immune response of broiler chickens exposed to intra-tracheal (i.t.) administration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) with and without Nigella sativa (Ns) supplementation was investigated. A total of 120 day-old chicks were divided into four groups comprising 30 birds each, into a control, Ns, BaP, and BaP+Ns group. Immune responses to Newcastle disease (ND) were evaluated by haemagglutination inhibition (HI), phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) skin test and carbon clearance assay (CCA). In most instances, there was a significant increase (p<0.05) in the ND-HI antibody titers, PHA skin-swelling response and phagocytic activity in the BaP + Ns group compared to that of the BaP group. Likewise, organ weight and indices of the spleen, bursa of Fabricius and thymus of birds from the BaP + Ns group were also higher (p<0.05) than that of the BaP group from day 1 until day 21. It is concluded that exposure to BaP may exert adverse effects on the immune system of broilers which may increase their susceptibility to disease, and Ns supplementation significantly reduces these alterations.
本研究旨在探讨经气管内（i.t.）给予苯并[a]芘（BaP）并补充黑种草（Ns）对肉鸡免疫反应的影响。将 120 只 1 日龄雏鸡分为 4 组，每组 30 只，分别为对照组、Ns 组、BaP 组和 BaP+Ns 组。通过血凝抑制（HI）试验、植物血凝素（PHA）皮试和碳廓清试验评估对新城疫（ND）的免疫反应。在大多数情况下，与 BaP 组相比，BaP+Ns 组的 ND-HI 抗体滴度、PHA 皮肤肿胀反应和吞噬活性显著增加（p<0.05）。同样，从第 1 天到第 21 天，BaP+Ns 组的鸟类脾脏、法氏囊和胸腺的器官重量和指数也高于 BaP 组（p<0.05）。由此可见，BaP 暴露可能对肉鸡的免疫系统产生不利影响，使其更容易患病，而 Ns 补充则显著减轻了这些变化。
