Heat stress can disrupt the balance between the heat poultry release into the environment and the heat they generate. Pequi oil has antioxidant properties, which may mitigate the heat stress effects. This study aimed to investigate the response of laying hens to pequi oil supplementation under heat stress using a proteomic approach. A total of 96 Lohmann White laying hens with 26 weeks old were housed in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. They were housed in two climate chambers, thermal comfort temperature ± 24.04 °C with the relative humidity ± 66.35 and heat stress (HS) ± 31.26 °C with the relative humidity ± 60.62. They were fed two diets: a control diet (CON), basal diet (BD) without additives, and with Pequi oil (PO), BD + 0.6% PO. After 84 days, plasma samples were analyzed using Shotgun and LC-MS/MS. Proteins related to anti-inflammation, transport, and the immune system were differentially expressed in hens fed PO and CON under heat stress compared to those in thermoneutral environments. This helps protect against oxidative stress and may support the body’s ability to manage heat-induced damage, stabilizing protein expression under stress conditions. The ovotransferrin proteins, fibrinogen isoforms, apolipoprotein A-I, Proteasome activator subunit 4, Transthyretin, and the enzyme serine Peptidase Inhibitor_Kazal Type 5, which presented Upregulated (Up) equal to 1, present characteristics that may be crucial for enhancing the adaptive responses of hens to thermal stress, thereby increasing their tolerance and minimizing the negative effects of heat on egg production. The data presented in this manuscript provides new insights into the plasma proteome alterations of laying hens fed a diet supplemented with pequi oil during heat stress challenges.

Passion fruit seed oil (PFSO) is rich in bioactive compounds, which can enhance laying hens’ health and performance. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of increasing PFSO supplementation in laying hens’ productive performance, egg quality, relative weight and length of organs, plasma lipid oxidation, antioxidant status, and gene expression of SOD, GPx, CAT, and NRF2 in the liver. One hundred ninety-two 25-week-old Lohmann Whites were randomly divided into three treatments (n = 8 replicates/diet, 8 hens/replicate). The groups were fed a corn–soybean basal diet containing 0.00%, 0.45%, and 0.90% PFSO for 16 weeks. The results indicated that increasing supplementation of PFSO decreased plasma lipid oxidation (n = 8; linear, p = 0.012) and increased CAT gene expression (n = 8; linear, p = 0.001). SOD and NRF2 genes tended to increase linearly, and GPx was not affected (n = 4; p > 0.05). The CAT activity tended to decrease linearly and the SOD and GPx were not affected (n = 8; p > 0.05) by diets. Performance and most egg quality, relative weight, and length of organs did not differ among treatments (n = 8; p > 0.05). Therefore, increasing the supplementation of PFSO in the diet may have positive effects on the laying hens’ health by decreasing oxidative stress, stimulating the antioxidant defense system, and sustaining egg production and quality.

Pequi oil (PO) is a natural feed additive rich in bioactive compounds, which can modulate antioxidant and immunological systems. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the proteomic profile of laying hens supplemented with PO under heat stress conditions. Ninety-six 26-week-old Lohmann White hens were housed in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with two climate chambers (cyclic heat stress and thermoneutral) and two diets (control and 0.6% PO). At 38 weeks old, liver samples were collected for protein extraction and digestion, and were submitted to liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). A total of 996 differentially expressed proteins were identified in the liver proteome of laying hens fed with 0.6% PO under heat stress. These upregulated proteins (0.95 ≤ p ≤ 1.00) are associated with lipid metabolism (apolipoprotein B; vitellogenin-1; ovotransferrin), the antioxidant system (protein disulfide-isomerase A4; superoxide dismutase 1_ soluble; catalase), the immune system (Ig-like domain-containing protein) and chaperones (HSP 90; HSP 70). PO positively modulates a network of heat shock proteins and antioxidant enzymes, and the unique proteins identified can contribute to the discovery of new biomarkers related to heat stress reduction by phytogenic additives.

Due to its antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties, using passion fruit seed oil (PFSO) is a promising strategy to mitigate the effects of heat stress in laying hens, potentially optimizing the absorption of essential minerals such as selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). Therefore, this study investigated the profile of selenium- and zinc-binding proteins (Se/Zn-BPs) in the hepatic proteome of Lohmann White laying hens (26 weeks old, n = 96) subjected to heat stress and whose diet was supplemented with 0.9% PFSO, using a metalloproteomic approach that combined two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D PAGE), graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The experimental design was a 2 × 2 factorial (temperature: thermoneutral/stress × diet: control/PFSO) design. After 84 days, liver samples were collected and subjected to metalloproteomic analyses. GFAAS analysis showed higher concentrations of Zn and Se in the protein pellets and in 11 specific protein spots of the supplemented groups (thermoneutral/PFSO and stress/PFSO). LC-MS/MS analysis identified 56 Se/Zn-BPs, with a predominance of heat shock chaperones (HSPs) and proteins involved in energy metabolism. In conclusion, PFSO supplementation modulates Se and Zn absorption, promoting a mineral balance that optimizes immune and antioxidant defense processes. This mechanism can lead to a positive impact on the health and productive performance of laying hens under heat stress.