Effects of Yeast Glucomannan and Sodium Bentonite on the Toxicity of Aflatoxin in Broilers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a yeast glucomannan (YG) and sodium bentonite (SB) in reducing the toxicity of aflatoxin for broilers fed a diet naturally contaminated with aflatoxin. In total, 300 7-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly assigned to 10 dietary treatments, consisting of a diet with no aflatoxin (positive control), a diet naturally contaminated with 250 ppb aflatoxin (negative control), and eight aflatoxin-contaminated diets supplemented with different SB and YG and their combinations. Serum biochemical parameters and liver pathological changes were investigated when broilers were 42 days old. The birds fed the negative control diet presented lower uric acid, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels and higher in AST and ALT activities compared with the positive control group. In addition, negative-control birds also showed significant histopathological changes (p<0.05), including slight to moderate hydropic degeneration and/or fatty changes (8 cases), bile-duct hyperplasia (7 cases), periportal fibrosis (5 cases), cells infiltration (4 cases), congestion (3 cases) as well gross pathological changes. The addition of YG and SB to the aflatoxin-contaminated diet partially alleviated the negative effects of aflatoxin. However, the supplementation 0.1% YG alone to the aflatoxin-contaminated diet significantly prevented the adverse effects of aflatoxin on serum biochemical parameters and pathological liver changes and was found to be more effective than other treatments.