Researchers from the Department of Biological Functions of Food received an honorable mention from the Japanese Society of Animal Science (JSAS).

The paper „The effect of administration of copper nanoparticles to chickens in their drinking water on the immune and antioxidant status of the blood”, published in „Animal Science Journal 89”, was awarded the Excellent Paper Awards by the Japanese Society of Animal Science. Its co-authors are Prof. Jerzy Juśkiewicz and Prof. Zenon Zduńczyk from our Institute.

The study aimed to determine what dose of copper nanoparticles added to a standard diet supplemented with copper sulfate improves antioxidant and immune protection in chickens. The experiment was conducted on 126 broiler chickens, which were divided into seven groups. Animals in the control group were not given copper nanoparticles and developed copper deficiency. Chickens are given copper nanoparticles during 3- or 7-day periods, the deficiency problem was not noted. At 42 days of age, blood markers were determined in broilers, and the results showed the increased antioxidant potential of the body and inhibition of lipid peroxidation.

The study showed that it is possible to simultaneously increase the antioxidant and immune defenses of chickens by feeding them copper nanoparticles for 6 weeks of feeding. This achieved a level that did not exceed the National Research Council (NRC) recommendation by more than 7%.

The work „The effect of administration of copper nanoparticles to chickens in their drinking water on the immune and antioxidant status of the blood” is of great biological importance as copper is considered to be one of the most important micronutrients essential for growth, development, and function of all living organisms. It exhibits the ability to accept and donate electrons readily and is a component of many enzymes, including copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD), cytochrome c oxidase, and L-lysine oxidase, ascorbate oxidase, tyrosinase, and dopamine beta-hydroxylase. The enzymes in turn play important roles in antioxidant defense, melanin synthesis, connective tissue formation, or mitochondrial respiration.

We congratulate all authors of the paper, especially scientists from our Institute – Prof. Jerzy Juśkiewicz and Prof. Zenon Zduńczyk. We wish you further scientific success!

The paper is available here.