EFFECT OF CENTRAL INJECTION OF GENISTEIN ON FEED INTAKE OF BROILER CHICKENS DEPRIVED OF FEED

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of Genistein on feed intake of broilers deprived of feed and water. A total of 30 Ross 308 male broiler chicks were allocated to 5 treatments and 6 replicates by employing a completely randomized design. At three weeks of age, the surgery was performed on broilers and guide cannula was implanted into their right lateral cerebral ventricle. After one week recovery, the chicks were deprived of water and feed for 6 hours prior applying the treatments. Treatments were control, sham control and 0.5, 1 and 2 µg Genistein per kg of bird’s body weight. The birds were returned into individual cages to measure their cumulative feed intake at 30, 60, 120 and 180 min after injection following free access to feed and water. According to the results, compared with control and sham control, ICV injection of 2 µg Genistein significantly (p<0.05) reduced cumulative feed intake in all experimental times, while 1 µg Genistein significantly (p<0.05) reduced the cumulative feed intake at 30, 90 and 120 min post- injection. Feed intake was not affected by 0.5 µg Genistein. In overall, cumulative feed intake of broilers was linearly decreased by increased levels of injected Genistein.