Effects of feed additives on chicken growth and their residues in meat instigating deleterious consequences on the liver health of consumers - A prospective human study

The liver is a multifunctional organ that metabolizes all forms of diets, and food ingredients can have beneficial or detrimental effects on liver cells during such a process. As we have already studied the components of chicken feed previously, the purpose of this study was to observe the effects of chicken meat consumption on liver cells of rats. One hundred and twenty female Albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups and separately for standard chow rat, commercial chicken feed, commercial chicken meat and organic chicken meat over a six-week period. Plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were estimated before and after the administration of different meals. After the experiment, the liver samples were weighed and histopathologically evaluated using a knodell score to assess portal hypertension and liver damage. Animals fed with commercial chicken meat and feed for six weeks showed development of inflammation, necrosis, apoptosis and cirrhosis on histopathological examination of the liver, and had raised plasma TNF-α and AFP-levels. This study shows that damage to liver cells is caused by consumption of commercial feed for chickens and their meat which is considered safe for human consumption.