Effects of intracerebroventricular injection of nisin on feeding behavior, body temperature, and serum parameters in LPS-inflamed broiler chickens

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Vahid Hamedianasl

Farshid Hamidi

Hamid Reza Kazerani

Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22067/ijvst.2026.97643.1639

Abstract

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) leads to impaired production performance, reduced feed intake, altered body temperature, and deleterious changes in some serum and disease parameters in broiler chickens. Bacteriocins such as nisin are considered promising therapeutic agents for the prevention, control, and treatment of poultry diseases. This study involved an experiment using 30 male broiler chickens to evaluate the central effects of nisin on feed and water consumption, body temperature, and serum factors under stress. In this experiment, nisin (1 μg) and LPS (25 ng) were injected intraventricularly, and combined treatments of nisin and LPS were also considered. Feed intake, water consumption, and body temperature were measured in all groups. At the end of the experiment, blood was collected from the chickens for evaluation of serum factors. ICV administration of nisin administration significantly increased feed intake, whereas LPS administration significantly decreased it. In combination treatments, nisin was able to partially reduce the adverse effects of LPS on feed intake. Both nisin and LPS reduced water intake in broilers, and combined treatment caused a greater reduction in water intake than either injection alone. LPS initially reduced body temperature before hyperthermia induction, whereas nisin alone had no effect on thermoregulation, but in the combination groups, it somewhat reduced LPS-induced temperature disturbances. LPS also caused a significant decrease in albumin and a significant increase in AST and ALT, whereas nisin reduced AST and ALT but had no effect on albumin. Results shows that nisin can be used as a useful and safe additive in poultry feed.

Keywords

Nisin

LPS

Feeding behavior

Temperature

Serum parameters

Broilers

Subjects

• Physiology

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