Efficacy of sodium bentonite (SB) to ameliorate adverse effects of aflatoxin on In Vitro rumen fermentation of wheat straw

Abstract

The present experiment was conducted to study the effect of sodium bentonite (SB) in ameliorating the adverseeffects of aflatoxin on in vitro rumen fermentation of wheat straw. Five treatment groups, viz. T1: control (wheatstraw); T2: T1 + 300 ppb aflatoxin B1 (AFB1); T3: T2 + 0.33% SB; T4: T2 + 0.5% SB and T5: T2 + 1.0% SB wereprepared and incubated in vitro. Truly degradable dry matter (TDDM), truly degradable organic matter (TDOM),gas production (GP), microbial biomass production (MBP) and partitioning factor (PF) values in T1 were higherthan those of other treatment groups (T2 to T5). TDDM, TDOM, GP, MBP and PF values in T2 were lower thanthose of other treatment groups. The values of these parameters improved with increasing concentration of SB.Total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), acetate (A), propionate (P) and butyrate (B) values in T1 were higher than thoseof other treatment groups (T2 to T5). TVFA and A value between T2 and T3 were statistically similar. TVFA, A, Pand B values improved with increasing level of SB, however, these values were lower than that of control even athighest inclusion level of SB. A:P ratio among various treatments did not vary significantly. It was concluded thataflatoxin contamination of feed at 300 ppb level significantly affected the in vitro rumen fermentation in terms ofreduced truly degradable dry matter, truly degradable organic matter, gas production, microbial biomass production, partitioning factor and total volatile fatty acids concentration. Incorporation of sodium bentonite up to 1.0% level to the aflatoxin-contaminated wheat straw, partially ameliorated the adverse effects of aflatoxin on in vitro rumen fermentation parameters.