Effect of dietary aspirin on ascites in broilers raised in a hypobaric chamber

USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Poultry Production and Product Safety Research, Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701, USA. jbalog@comp.uark.edu

During the course of ascites development in broilers, many factors can interact to cause hypoxia. To counteract hypoxia, birds with ascites develop greatly increased hematocrit and red cell counts. Increasing hematocrits result in more viscous blood. Prostaglandins are involved in the regulation of constriction and dilation of pulmonary blood vessels and in the formation of blood clots. Dietary aspirin, a prostaglandin inhibitor, was used in an attempt to promote vasodilation and inhibit blood clotting in broilers, with the objective of determining the effect of aspirin on ascites progression. The experimental design consisted of two trials with a total of 1,360, 1-d-old male broiler chicks, which were placed at either local altitude (390 m above sea level) or in a hypobaric chamber that simulated an altitude of 2,900 m above sea level. At each elevation, five dietary treatments were employed: [control, 0.025% crystalline acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), 0.05% aspirin, 0.10% aspirin, and 0.20% aspirin]. Bird and feed weights were recorded weekly. At the end of 5 wk, blood samples and organ weights were collected, and all birds were examined for signs of ascites. In both trials, birds raised at high altitudes were significantly lighter, had a higher incidence of ascites, and had differences in hematology, compared with birds raised at local elevation. Only in Trial 2, however, did dietary aspirin appear to have any effect on ascites incidence. At the 0.20% aspirin level, a reduction in ascites incidence approached significance compared with controls (34% vs. 56%, P < or = 0.06). Unfortunately, birds fed 0.20% aspirin also were significantly (P < or = 0.01) lighter than controls. Because slowing growth rate is known to reduce ascites, this decrease in BW may have been partially responsible for any beneficial effect on ascites development and progression obtained through feeding aspirin.