Abstract
Aflatoxin occurrence in poultry feed causes aflatoxicosis in birds and poses health hazards to the consumers. Aflatoxin B1
(AfB1) is the most predominant and toxic metabolite that is controlled through addition of argillaceous clays as non-nutritive
additives. Non-smectitic indigenous clay reserves need testing as AfB1 adsorbent. With detailed mineral and adsorption
characteristics, three indigenous non-smectitic clays: (i) palygorskite, (ii) palygorskite-smectite mix, and (iii) interstratified
smectite with hydroxy interlayered smectite were tested against 250 µg kg-1 AfB1 contamination in a poultry feeding trial with
three replications at 1% and 2% (w/w) with positive and negative controls. A total of 330 Ross-308 male broiler chicks, initially
reared on clean feed under controlled conditions of light and humidity, were distributed into eleven treatment combinations in
a completely randomized design with 30 birds in each treatment on an equal weight basis with three replications at day 14 and
fed on experimental feeds for three weeks. Three birds from each pen were randomly slaughtered at day 35 and for each
replicated treatment, body weight gain, feed intake, and internal organs weight and morphology were recorded. AfB1
contamination reduced weight gain (p 0.0001), feed conversion ratio (p 0.0001) and feed intake (p 0.0001) while clays addition
in the toxin feed effectively controlled AfB1 toxicity as suggested by improved body weight, weight gain rate and feed
consumption compared to the toxin fed birds. The liver morphology was comparatively better in palygorskite-smectite mix
treatment when applied at 1% and the darkish colour was also improved with addition of the clay in the toxin feed. AfB1
feeding caused a 75% reduction in weight gain compared to the clean feed. Palygorskite and palygorskite-smectite mix clays
were better than interstratified clay in increasing weight gain and caused a 60% and 65% increase over toxin feed treatment
when applied at 1% and 2%, respectively. In conclusion, the indigenous clay sources overall and palygorskite-smectite mix in
particular has the potential for use as a mycotoxin binder for controlling AfB1 incidence in poultry.
Keywords: Aflatoxin B1, non-smectitic clays, mycotoxin binder, feed contamination, poultry production
Saba Akbar, , Mohammad Saleem Akhtar, Ghulam Jilani. (2022) Efficacy of clay minerals for controlling aflatoxin B1 toxicity in commercial broilers, Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 59, Issue 2.
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