THE IMPACT OF SUPPLEMENTING BROILER CHICKENS WITH TRIBULUS TERRESTRIS POWDER ON GENE EXPRESSION OF GROWTH HORMONE AND INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Department of Animal Production, Technical Agricultural College, Northern Technical University, Mosul, Iraq

2 Department of Pharmacy Techniques, Mosul Medical Technical Institute, Northern Technical University, Mosul, Iraq

10.21608/avmj.2025.316370.1374

Abstract

The Tribulus terrestris plant is a key component of industrial medicinal products, because it includes a high concentration of compounds with valuable biological activity. By assessing the Growth Hormone (GH) and Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1) gene expression in broiler chickens, this study aimed to determine the safe dosage of T. terrestris powder that may be added to their diet. The GC-MS data demonstrated the existence of biocompounds with a variety of pharmacological properties. T. terrestris contains six fatty acids: palmitic acid, stearic acid, lauric acid, arachidonic acid, tridecylic acid, pentadecylic acid, stigmasterol, and beta-sitosterol. Following the addition of plant powder to the diet at dosages of 0.5, 1, and 1.5 gm, the GH gene expression using RT-qPCR demonstrated a noticeable rise in activity. ; The highest upregulation value determined was 3.04 folds higher than the control value (0.96) at concentrations of 1.5 gm. Additionally, the data demonstrated that the liver's IGF1 expression was upregulated at 1.5 gm, increasing 1.94 times, compared to the control's (1.06). In conclusion, the study demonstrated that adding T. terrestris to broiler chicken diets raises the expression of the GH and IGF-1 genes. It may therefore contribute to the weight gain of broiler chicks.

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