Antioxidant efficacy of curcuminoids from turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) powder in broiler chickens fed diets containing aflatoxin B1

A 3-week-feeding Study (1-21 d post-hatch) was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of total curcuminoids (TCMN), as an antioxidant, to ameliorate the adverse effects of aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)) in broiler chickens. Turmeric powder (Curcuma longa L.) that contained 2.55% TCMN was used as a source of TCMN. Six cage replicates of five chicks each were assigned to each of six dietary treatments, which included: basal diet; basal diet supplemented with 444 mg/kg TCMN; basal diet supplemented with 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1); basal diet supplemented with 74 mg/kg TCMN and 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1); basal diet supplemented with 222 mg/kg TCMN and 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1); basal diet supplemented with 444 mg/kg TCMN and 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1). The addition of 74 and 222 mg/kg TCMN to the AFB(1) diet significantly (P<0.05) improved weight gain and feed efficiency. Increase (P<0.05) in relative liver weight in birds fed AFB(1) was significantly reduced (P<0.05) with the addition of 74, 222 and 444 mg/kg TCMN to the AFB(1) diet. The inclusion of 222 mg/kg TCMN ameliorated the adverse effects of AFB(1) on serum chemistry in terms of total protein. albumin and gamma-glutamyl transferase activity. The decreased antioxidant functions clue to AFB(1) were also alleviated by the inclusion of 222 mg/kg TCMN. It is concluded that the addition of 222 mg/kg TCMN to the 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1) diet demonstrated maximum antioxidant activity against AFB(1).