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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 8 weeks of age were divided into 4 equal groups and reared on feed contaminated with different doses of AFB1 for 10 weeks. 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 100 ppb, 200 ppb, and 400 ppb 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 400 ppb 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.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a secondary metabolite of some Aspergillus species that contaminate the agricultural commodities intended for animal and human consumption. The present in vivo study aimed to evaluate activated charcoal (AC) for its ability to reduce AFB1-induced immune suppressive effects in broiler chickens. One-day-old broiler chicks were divided into 12 groups (n = 30) and raised until 42 days of age. One control group was offered basal broiler feed. Three AFB1 groups were kept on AFB1-contaminated basal broiler feed (0.1, 0.2, and 0.6 mg/kg AFB1, respectively), whereas two AC groups were offered AC-added basal broiler feed (2.5 and 5.0 g/kg AC, respectively). Six combination groups were maintained on a combination of different doses of AFB1 and AC. The immune protective efficacy of AC was assessed by anti-sheep RBC's antibodies, phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system, phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P)-induced cutaneous basophil response, and histopathological and morphometric analysis of lymphoid organs. Dietary exposure to AFB1 alone resulted in dose-dependent suppression of immune responses and degenerative and necrotic changes in the bursa of Fabricius and thymus. The dietary addition of AC reduced the toxic effects of 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg dietary AFB1 on immune responses and histological lesion on lymphoid organs; however, at higher dietary level of AFB1 (0.6 mg AFB1/kg), the dietary addition of AC was not effective to prevent the immunotoxic effects. The results of this study suggested that dietary inclusion of AC has the ability to prevent immunotoxic effects induced by AFB1 at lower dietary contaminations levels in broiler chickens.

Cadmium is an important widely distributed heavy metal in the environment due to its several industrial uses, while milk thistle is an important herb and is a source of several antioxidant particularly silymarin which is a pharmacological active substance present in seeds of milk thistle plant (Silybum marianum). The current study investigated pathological effects of cadmium (Cd) and their amelioration with silymarin (SL) and milk thistle (MT) quails. A total of 144 quails were equally divided into 9 groups and given different combinations of cadmium chloride (150 and 300 mg/kg feed), SL (250 mg/kg), and MT (10 g/kg) feed. Parameters studied were clinical signs, mortality, organ weights, testes weight and volume, and gross and microscopic pathology. Results of this study indicated an increased mortality and reduced body weight in cadmium-treated quails. Quails were dull, depressed compared with control. Swollen hemorrhagic liver along with atrophied testes were also observed in these groups. No active spermatozoa were observed in lumen of seminiferous tubules of Cd-treated birds presenting arrest of spermatogenesis. Supplementing MT and SL ameliorated mortality, organ weights, spermatogenesis, and histopathological lesions. It may be concluded that MT and SL proved beneficial in cadmium-induced toxicities in Japanese quails.