Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Original article
Austral J. Vet. Sci.
Vol 58, e5807 (2026)
DOI: 10.4206/ajvs.58.07

Effects of sodium intake through drinking water on muscle hydration and hematological parameters in broiler chickens

1 Centro Universitario de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Nextipac, Zapopan, Jalisco, México.
Keywords: Sodium load Tissue hydration Leukocyte profile Osmotic stress Avian model

Submitted: 2026-01-23

Accepted: 2026-05-12

Published: 2026-06-17

*Corresponding author:
yury.rodriguez@academicos.udg.mx

How to Cite

Minjarez, B., Loya-Romero, M. G., Chávez-Mora, I. Y., Jacobo-Pereira, C., Reynoso-Orozco, R., Mireles-Flores, S., & Rodríguez-Yáñez, Y. (2026). Effects of sodium intake through drinking water on muscle hydration and hematological parameters in broiler chickens. Austral Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 58, e5807. https://doi.org/10.4206/ajvs.58.07

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Benito Minjarez, María Guadalupe Loya-Romero, Ivón Yanine Chávez-Mora, Cesar Jacobo-Pereira, Ramón Reynoso-Orozco, Salvador Mireles-Flores, Yury Rodríguez-Yáñez

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of sodium chloride (NaCl) administered through drinking water on muscle moisture content and associated hematological responses in broiler chickens (Cobb 500). Five experimental groups were evaluated, including a control group and drinking-water supplementation with sodium chloride (NaCl) or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) administered at different concentrations and exposure periods. Moisture content of the internal rectus femoris muscle was quantified, and hematological parameters were analyzed to evaluate systemic responses related to tissue hydration. Increased muscle moisture content was associated with alterations in leukocyte profiles, including changes in neutrophils, leukocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes, suggesting changes in circulating immune cell distribution rather than a direct suppression of immune function. Both supplementation regimens produced comparable hematological patterns, and no statistically significant differences were observed between the 2.5 g/L NaCl for 30 days and 5 g/L NaCl for 10 days treatments. Hematological variables were analyzed using an automated hematology analyzer, and statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, permutational multivariate analysis of variance, and principal component analysis, following verification of variance homogeneity and collinearity. The results demonstrate that sodium chloride intake through drinking water is associated with increased muscle moisture content accompanied by measurable hematological changes in broiler chickens. These findings suggest that broilers may serve as a useful experimental model for studying salt-induced alterations in muscle hydration and immune-related parameters under controlled production conditions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Afsar, B., Kuwabara, M., Ortiz, A., Yerlikaya, A., Siriopol, D., Covic, A., Rodriguez-Iturbe, B., Johnson, R. J., & Kanbay, M. (2018). Salt intake and immunity. Hypertension, 72(1), 19–23. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.118.11128
  2. Alsouqi, A., Deger, S. M., Sahinoz, M., Mambungu, C., Clagett, A. R., Bian, A., Guide, A., Stewart, T. G., Pike, M., Robinson-Cohen, C., Crescenzi, R., Madhur, M. S., Harrison, D. G., & Ikizler, T. A. (2022). Tissue sodium in patients with early stage hypertension: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Heart Association, 11(8), e022723. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.022723
  3. Baliga, R. R., Singh, H., & Narula, J. (2026). Sodium or potassium, and chloride or bicarbonate: which combination is worth its salt?. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 33(2), 166-168. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf137
  4. Borrelli, S., Provenzano, M., Gagliardi, I., Michael, A., Liberti, M. E., De Nicola, L., et al. (2020). Sodium intake and chronic kidney disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(13), 4744. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21134744
  5. Cobb-Vantress (2023). Cobb500 slow feather breeder management supplement. https://www.cobbgenetics.com/assets/Cobb-Files/Cobb500-Slow-Feather-Breeder-Management-Supplement.pdf
  6. Fang, H. Y., & Wilund, K. R. (2023). Muscle sodium accumulation in kidney failure: Physiological impact and mitigation strategies. Journal of Renal Nutrition, 33(6), S93–S102. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jrn.2023.02.005
  7. Flores, J., & Nugent, K. (2025). Sodium, the vascular endothelium, and hypertension: A narrative review of literature. Cardiology in Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/CRD.0000000000000854
  8. Frigeri, A., Nicchia, G. P., Balena, R., Nico, B., & Svelto, M. (2004). Aquaporins in skeletal muscle: Reassessment of the functional role of aquaporin-4. FASEB Journal, 18(9), 905–907. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.03-0987fje
  9. García, E. (2004). Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Köppen. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. https://publicaciones.geografia.unam.mx/index.php/ig/catalog/view/83/82/251
  10. Jimenez, N. B., & Guevara, J. R. V. (2020). Inmunopatogénesis, ingesta de sodio/potasio y sistema calicreínas-cininas en hipertensión arterial. Una revisión. Avances en Biomedicina, 9(2), 43-57. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=8467563
  11. Mihalj, M., Štefanić, M., Mihaljević, Z., Kolobarić, N., Jukić, I., Stupin, A., Matić, A., Frkanec, R., Tavčar, B., Horvatić, A., & Drenjančević, I. (2024). Early low-grade inflammation induced by high-salt diet in Sprague Dawley rats involves Th17/Treg axis dysregulation, vascular wall remodeling, and a shift in the fatty acid profile. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, 58(1), 83–103. https://doi.org/10.33594/000000684
  12. Mukherjee, P., Roy, S., Ghosh, D., & Nandi, S. K. (2022). Role of animal models in biomedical research: A review. Laboratory Animal Research, 38(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42826-022-00128-1
  13. National Research Council. (1994). Nutrient requirements of poultry (9th rev. ed.). National Academy Press.
  14. Oksanen, J., Blanchet, F. G., Kindt, R., Legendre, P., Minchin, P. R., O’Hara, R. B., Simpson, G. L., Solymos, P., Stevens, M. H. H., & Wagner, H. (2022). Community ecology package (Version 2.0-10) [R package]. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan
  15. Olde Engberink, R. H., Selvarajah, V., & Vogt, L. (2020). Clinical impact of tissue sodium storage. Pediatric Nephrology, 35(8), 1373–1380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-019-04305-8
  16. Olkowski, A. A. (2018). Pathophysiology of heart failure in broiler chickens: Structural, metabolic, and molecular characteristics. Poultry Science, 97(4), 1329–1338. https://doi.org/10.1093/ps/86.5.999
  17. Oparil, S., Acelajado, M. C., Bakris, G. L., Berlowitz, D. R., Cífková, R., Dominiczak, A. F., Grassi, G., Jordan, J., Poulter, N. R., Rodgers, A., & Whelton, P. K. (2018). Hypertension. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 4, 18014. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2018.14
  18. R Core Team. (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
  19. Sadki, D., Fawaz, S., Liegey, J. S., Pucheu, Y., Boulestreau, R., Beuque, G., Foucher, J., Hein, L., & Couffinhal, T. (2026). Differential cardiovascular impacts of sodium salts: Unveiling the distinct roles of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate—Consequences for heart failure patients. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 33(2), 160–165. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf020
  20. Scallan, J. P., Zawieja, S. D., Castorena-Gonzalez, J. A., & Davis, M. J. (2016). Lymphatic pumping: Mechanics, mechanisms and malfunction. The Journal of Physiology, 594(20), 5749–5768. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP272088
  21. SEER Training. (n.d.). Components of the lymphatic system. National Cancer Institute. https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/lymphatic/components/
  22. Shrimanker, I., & Bhattarai, S. (2023). Electrolytes. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541123/
  23. Smith, B., Park, J., Landi, J. L., McConnell, B., Rahman, A., Omari, A. R., et al. (2024). Chronic edema management of the lower extremities. Cureus, 16(7), e63840. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.63840
  24. Stücker, M., Protz, K., Eder, S., Läuchli, S., Traber, J., & Dissemond, J. (2023). Diagnostik von Beinödemen. Dermatologie, 74(3), 182–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00105-022-05082-6
  25. Sulyok, E., Farkas, B., Nagy, B., Várnagy, Á., Kovács, K., & Bódis, J. (2022). Tissue sodium accumulation: Pathophysiology and clinical implications. Antioxidants, 11(4), 750. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11040750
  26. Wang, Y. J., Yeh, T. L., Shih, M. C., Tu, Y. K., & Chien, K. L. (2020). Dietary sodium intake and risk of cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. Nutrients, 12(10), 2934. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12102934
  27. Wang, L., Hu, J., & Ren, K. (2025). The multifaceted impact of a high-salt environment on the immune system and its contribution to salt-sensitive hypertension. Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports, 44, 102244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrep.2025.102244
  28. Watanabe, M., Takimoto, H. R., Hashimoto, K., Ishii, Y., & Sasaki, N. (2025). Effectively simplified Adriamycin-induced chronic kidney disease mouse model: Retro-orbital vein injection versus tail-vein injection. Animal Models and Experimental Medicine, 8(3), 568–572. https://doi.org/10.1002/ame2.12553
  29. Wideman, R. F., Jr. (2016). Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis and lameness in broilers: A review. Poultry Science, 95(2), 325–344. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pev320
  30. Wiig, H., & Swartz, M. A. (2012). Interstitial fluid and lymph formation and transport: Physiological regulation and roles in inflammation. Physiological Reviews, 92(3), 1005–1060. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00037.2011
  31. Zar, J. H. (1999). Biostatistical analysis (4th ed.). Prentice Hall.

Make a Submission

Make a Submission

Journal Metrics (2025) & Ranking

JOURNAL METRICS & RANKING (2025)

Impact Factor (2025) 0.5
5 years Impact Factor 1.0
JCR Quartile Q4
JIF Rank 146/170 (Veterinary Sciences)
SJR (2025) 0.208

Indexed in

Publisher


This journal is published by the Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile

Keywords