Efficacy of Methionine Hydroxy Analogue in Ameliorating Aflatoxicosis in Japanese Quails

Abstract

The efficacy of dietary methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA) to ameliorate aflatoxicosis caused by 500 ppb aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in Japanese quails was investigated. A total of 600, day-old quail chicks were divided into ten treatment groups viz. T1: control; T2: T1+500 ppb AFB1, T3: T1+400 ppm MHA, T4: T1+500 ppm MHA, T5: T1+625 MHA, T6: T1+769 ppm MHA, T7: T2+400 ppm MHA, T8: T2+500 ppm MHA, T9: T2+625 MHA, and T10: T2+769 ppm MHA. Each diet was fed to four replicated groups of 15 birds each from day-old to 35d of age. The results revealed that contamination of aflatoxin (500 ppb) in the diet of Japanese quails caused significant (P<0.05) decrease in BW gain. Supplementation of MHA at 400–625 ppm (T7 to T9) level in AFB1 contaminated diet though improved (P<0.05) the BW gain but could not match with the gain in control diet. However, supplementation of MHA at 769 ppm level in AFB1 contaminated diet ameliorated the adverse effects of AFB1 on gain in quails. The overall feed consumption remained uninfluenced due to dietary treatments. The FCR of groups T7, T8 and T9 was lower (P<0.05) than that of AFB1 fed group but higher (P<0.05) than control. The FCR of group T10 was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of AFB1 fed group similar to control. Contamination of feed with 500 ppb AFB1 resulted in significant increase in FCR of quails. Supplementation of MHA (769 ppm) to the AFB1 contaminated diet resulted in significant improvement in feed efficiency that was comparable to control. Aflatoxin contamination in diet (T2) resulted in enlarged, pale, congested and round bordered liver. Incorporation of MHA at higher level (769 ppm) in AF contaminated diet significantly reduced the effect of AFB1 on liver morphology. It is concluded that supplementation of MHA at 769 ppm in 500 ppb AFB1 contaminated feed ameliorated the adverse effects on BW gain and FCR in Japanese quails.