Efficacy of glucomannan-containing yeast product (Mycosorb®) and hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate in preventing the individual and combined toxicity of aflatoxin and T-2 toxin in commercial broilers

A feeding trial was conducted on commercial broilers for a period of 35 days to determine the individual and combined effects of aflatoxin (AF) and T-2 toxin (T-2) on performance, organ weights and immune status. The efficacy of dietary glucomannan-containing yeast product (GYP) (Mycosorb((R))) and hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS) in preventing the adverse effects of aflatoxin and T-2 toxin was also evaluated. Twelve dietary treatments (4x3 factorial) comprising two dietary levels each of AF (0 and 2 mg/kg) T-2 toxin (0 and 1 mg/kg), GYP (0 and 1 kg/ton) and HSCAS (0 and 10 kg/ton) were tested on 720 commercial broiler chickens divided at random into 36 replicates of 20 chicks each (10 males and 10 females). Weight gain and feed intake were recorded weekly Organ morphology and antibody titers for Newcastle disease (ND) and infectious bursal disease (IBD) were measured on the 35(th) day. AF and T-2 toxin individually decreased weight gain and increased feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p < 0.05). AF alone (p < 0.05) increased weights of liver, kidney, gizzard and spleen and reduced thymus and bursal weights. T-2 toxin (p < 0.05) increased liver and gizzard weights and decreased thymus weight. Both AF and T-2 toxin when fed individually affected ND and IBD titers in a significant manner. Significant interactions between AF and T-2 toxin were observed for their additive effects on weight gain, FCR, organ weights and antibody titers. Addition of GYP (p < 0.05) improved weight gain, feed conversion efficiency and restored the organ weights. Antibody titers against ND and IBD were significantly improved with the supplementation of GYP. Supplementation of HSCAS (p < 0.05) resulted in improvement in weight gain and restored organ weights in the groups fed AF alone, but not in T-2 toxin fed groups. HSCAS inclusion did not influence FCR in toxin fed groups. Addition of HSCAS (p < 0.05) improved the antibody titers against ND and IBD only in AF fed groups. Thus, the results indicate that addition of GYP is effective in averting the individual and combined toxicity of aflatoxin and T-2 toxin in commercial broilers, while HSCAS is effective only against aflatoxin.