The effect of moderate-dose aflatoxin B 1 and Salmonella Enteritidis infection on intestinal permeability in broiler chickens

AbstractThe effect of dietary aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) andSalmonella Enteritidis infection on intestinal permeability was investigated. Two hundred 1-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly divided into 4 treatments of 5 replicates each (10 birds per replicate), which were fed ad libitum for 3  weeks with the following treatments: control, chickens fed an AFB1-free diet; AF, chickens fed an AFB1-contaminated diet at 470  ng/g; SE, chickens fed an AFB1-free diet and challenged with 108 cfu ofS. Enteritidis per bird at 18  days old; AF + SE, chickens fed an AFB1-contaminated diet and challenged with 108 cfu ofS. Enteritidis per bird at 18  days old. At day 21 of age, chicks received an oral gavage dose of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-dextran) to evaluate gastrointestinal leakage. Blood and intestinal samples were collected to evaluate serum biochemistry and total intestinal IgA secretion, respectively. Liver tissues were aseptically collected to assess bacterial invasiveness and for histomorphological studies. The results showed that chickens receiving AFB1 presented a significant increment (up to 2.4-fold) in serum FITC-dextran concentration (p <  0.05). Nevertheless,S. Enteritidis infection had no additional effect on gastrointestinal leakage. Furthermore, the ingestion of AFB1 had no impact on the invasive potential ofS. Enteritidis. These results suggest that moderate-dose AFB1 adversely affects intestinal barrier function resulting in i...
Source: Mycotoxin Research - Category: Toxicology Source Type: research