Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of different dietary concentrations of ochratoxin A (OTA) on the growth, feed intake, mortality, blood plasma protein content and some parameters of lipid peroxidation and the glutathione redox system of pheasant chicks in a three-week long trial. A total of 320 seven-day-old female pheasants were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (n = 40 in each), fed with a diet artificially contaminated with OTA [control (<0.02 mg/kg), 0.88 mg/kg, 1.14 mg/kg and 1.51 mg/kg] for 21 days (up to 28 days of age). The pheasant chicks were sacrificed at early (12, 24 and 72 h) and late (7, 14 and 21 days) stages of mycotoxin exposure to check the effect of OTA. Minimal feed refusal was found in the medium- and high-dose toxin groups (-9.8 and -7.9%, respectively), and body weight gain was nearly the same in all groups. The glutathione redox system was activated mainly in the liver, confirmed by significantly increased reduced glutathione content and glutathione peroxidase activity during the late phase of mycotoxin exposure and at a high-dose treatment. The results suggest that pheasants have low susceptibility to OTA, and activation of the glutathione redox system has importance in this tolerance.
Highlights
Ochratoxins are worldwide occurring mycotoxins primarily produced by the mould species Aspergillus ochraceus and Penicillium verrucosum (Gupta, 2007)
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of different dietary concentrations of ochratoxin A (OTA) on the growth, feed intake, mortality, blood plasma protein content and some parameters of lipid peroxidation and the glutathione redox system of pheasant chicks in a three-week long trial
The results suggest that pheasants have low susceptibility to OTA, and activation of the glutathione redox system has importance in this tolerance
Summary
Ochratoxins are worldwide occurring mycotoxins primarily produced by the mould species Aspergillus ochraceus and Penicillium verrucosum (Gupta, 2007). These toxins contaminate different grains, such as barley, corn, wheat, and oat (Rafai et al, 2000). Global occurrence data reported from the last decade show that the incidences and maximum levels in cereal grains were 29% and 1,164 mg/kg, respectively, for ochratoxin A (OTA) (Lee and Ryu, 2017). The adverse effects of OTA are well recognised in poultry species. Hamilton et al (1982) reported the first ochratoxicosis field outbreak in turkeys, broiler chickens, and laying hens. In the most severely affected Turkey flock, total mortality reached 59% by marketing age, and the Unauthenticated | Downloaded 11/02/21 10:15 AM UTC
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