Abstract
This research was performed to investigate the effects of milk thistle (MT), toxin binder (TB) and marine algae (Spirulina platensis; SP) on the performance, blood indices, humoral immunity and cecal microbiota of broiler chickens exposed to aflatoxin-B1 (AFB1). A total of 300 one-day-old male chicks were equally divided into five treatments, with six replicates with 10 birds per treatment. Dietary treatments included: (T1) a control diet (without any feed additive or AFB1); (T2) control diet + 0.6 mg AFB1/kg; (T3) T2 + 10 g/kg MT; (T4) T2 + 1 g/kg TB; and (T5) T2 + 10 g/kg SP. BWG and FI were found to be considerably reduced in broilers given AFB1-contaminated diets (p < 0.05). The FCR was negatively influenced in birds fed AFB1-contaminated diets (p < 0.05). MT, TB, and SP powders also reduced the deleterious effects of AFB1 on the growth of chickens (p < 0.05). In comparison with the control birds and the other treatments, broilers given AFB1-contaminated diets had a higher relative weight of abdominal fat (p < 0.05). The feeding of AFB1 resulted in a substantial rise in AST and ALT activity (p < 0.05). MT, TB, and SP powders significantly decreased blood AST and ALT activity in broilers (p < 0.05). The AFB1 and MT groups had the lowest skin thickness (p < 0.05) twenty-four hours after injection. The phytohemagglutinin injection results showed that the TB and SP were more efficient than the other additives in removing toxins from the feed sources (p < 0.05). The antibody titer against sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) was lower in the AFB1 group compared to the control group at 28 days of age (p < 0.05). When comparing AFB1-fed chicks to the control treatment, there was a significant (p < 0.05) concentration of cecal Coliform bacteria. When MT, TB, and SP powders were added to AFB1-contaminated diet, cecal Coliforms were decreased (p < 0.05). When fed AFB1-contaminated diets, it can be concluded that MT, TB, and SP are suitable for supporting growth performance, immunological function, and the serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens.
Subject
Plant Science,Agronomy and Crop Science,Food Science
Cited by
17 articles.
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