Abstract
Current experiment was planned to investigate the deleterious effects of the graded doses of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on white leghorn male birds. For this purpose, one-hundred birds of 8weeks of age were divided into 4 equal groups and reared on feed contaminated with different doses of AFB1 for 10weeks. Group A was kept as a control group and was fed with normal toxin-free diet; groups B, C, and D were offered feed containing 100ppb, 200ppb, and 400ppb of AFB1, respectively. The birds were euthanized at the 4th and 10th week of the experiment. Clinical signs, behavioral changes, absolute and relative organ weight of the testes, and sperm motility were measured. Cellular immune response was observed through carbon clearance assay (CCA), P-HAP, and antibody response against sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Results showed a dose-dependent decline in the immune response of birds with the increase in the level of AFB1 in the feed. A significant decrease in the serum levels of testosterone, prolactin, and LH were observed at the end of the study. Grossly, testicular size and volume were reduced in ABF1 fed birds, while histological examination showed moderate to severe necrosis of testicular parenchyma, with partial to complete arrest of spermatogenesis. Very few spermatozoa were found in group C, while they were almost absent in group D which was offered a diet containing 400ppb AFB1. The motility of sperms was reduced in all treated groups except control. The abovementioned results showed that AFB1 had severe toxic effects on the reproductive and immunological parameters of WLH male birds in a dose-dependent manner.
Highlights
Poultry industry is a vibrant source of a balanced diet for poor masses of developing countries
The least clinical signs were showed by group D which was fed aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) 400 ppb (Table 1)
The poultry industry is a vital source of balanced duet in poor masses in our country as it is the cheapest source of protein for people
Summary
Poultry industry is a vibrant source of a balanced diet for poor masses of developing countries. It is a cheap source of quality protein for low-income people in Pakistan. One of the obstacles in the growth and development of the poultry industry is the contamination of mycotoxins and pesticides contamination in poultry feed (Gul et al, 2020). This fungal contamination poses a serious threat to crops in the form of secondary metabolites which are called mycotoxins (Moussa et al, 2020). There are different types of mycotoxins like aflatoxins, ochratoxins, zearalenone, fumonisins, T-2 toxins, DON, and DAS etc. (Saleemi et al, 2017; Imran et al, 2020; Gohar et al, 2020)
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