Efficacy of adsorbents (bentonite and diatomaceous earth) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) in alleviating the toxic effects of aflatoxin in chicks

1. A study was conducted to determine the efficacy of bentonite clay (BC), diatomaceous earth (DE) and turmeric powder (TUM) in alleviating the toxic effects of aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)).A total of 250 Ross-308 d-old male broiler chicks were assigned to 10 dietary treatments (5 replicates of 5 chicks) from hatch to d 21. Dietary treatments were: basal diet; basal diet plus AFB(1) (2mg) or BC (0.75%), or DE (0.75%), or TUM (200mg/kg curcuminoids) and different combinations of AFB(1,) BC, DE and TUM.Feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG) and feed gain (FG) of the birds fed on BC or DE separately were not different from control birds. Birds fed on TUM only had similar FI and FG but lower BWG than control chicks.Aflatoxin B-1 reduced FI, BWG and serum concentrations of glucose, albumin, total protein calcium, but increased FG and relative liver and kidney weights. Chicks fed on the combination of AFB(1) and BC had similar FI and FG to control chicks. Chicks fed on the combination of DE and AFB(1) had lower FI (23.1%) and BWG (28.6%) compared with control chicks.Chicks fed on the combination of TUM and AFB(1) also had decreased FI (26.2 %) and BWG (31%) compared with control chicks. Chicks fed on the combination of AFB(1), BC and TUM consumed significantly higher amounts of feed compared with chicks fed on only AF, but gained less when compared with control diet chicks.Chicks fed on the combination of AFB(1), DE and TUM diet had poorer growth performance than those fed on AFB(1) alone. None of the combination diets reduced the severity of liver lesions.