Prenatal tolbutamide treatment alters plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and negatively affects the postnatal performance of chickens

• After 1 embryonic injection of tolbutamide, a prolonged decrease of plasma glucose and a profound increase in insulin were observed
• Three consecutive embryonic injections of tolbutamide induced hypoglycemia for 4 days
• Prenatal tolbutamide treatment lowered body weight, feed intake, and sensitivity to insulin

To examine the relationship of insulin and glucose, broiler embryos were subjected to acute or prolonged hypoglycemia during the late embryonic phase by, respectively, injecting once (at embryonic day [ED] 16 or 17) or on 3 consecutive days (ED 16, 17, and 18) with tolbutamide (80 μg/g embryo weight), a substance that stimulates insulin secretion from the pancreas. After 1 tolbutamide injection, a prolonged (32 h) decrease of plasma glucose and a profound acute increase in plasma insulin were observed. The 3 consecutive tolbutamide injections induced hypoglycemia for 4 days (from ED 16 to ED 19). The postnatal performance after 3 consecutive tolbutamide injections in broiler embryos was also investigated. Body weight was lower in tolbutamide-treated chickens from hatch to 42 d compared with sham (P = 0.001) and control (P < 0.001) chickens. Feed intake was lower in the tolbutamide group from hatch to 42 d as compared with sham (P = 0.007) and control (P = 0.017) animals. In addition, at 42 d, plasma glucose concentrations, after an insulin injection challenge (50 μg/kg body weight), were higher in tolbutamide-treated chickens compared with the sham and the control group as were their basal glucose levels (P value of group effect <0.001). In conclusion, tolbutamide treatment during the late embryonic development in broilers resulted in prolonged hypoglycemia in this period and negatively influenced the posthatch performance.