Effects of feeding corn naturally contaminated with aflatoxin B1 and B2 on hepatic functions of broilers.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of feeding corn naturally contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) on serum biochemical parameters, hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities, and pathological lesions of broilers. In total, 1,200 Cobb male broilers were randomly allocated into 5 treatments, with 8 replicates per treatment and 30 birds per replicate, in a 42-d experiment. The dietary treatments were as follows: control, 25, 50, 75, and 100% contaminated corn groups. Results showed that serum aspartate aminotransferase activity in the 75 and 100% contaminated groups were higher than that in the con-trol group on d 21 (P < 0.05). Decreased content of hepatic total protein and increased activities of hepatic glutathione reductase and glutathione-5-transferase were observed as the percentage of contaminated corn increased (P < 0.05). The activity of superoxide dis-mutase and the content of hepatic malondialdehyde in-creased when the broilers were fed with more than 50% contaminated corn (P < 0.05). A reduction in gluta-thione peroxidase level was observed in the AFB1- and AFB2-contaminated groups on d 21 (P < 0.05). The average pathological lesion scores and apoptosis rate of liver cells increased as the concentration of dietary AFB1 and AFB2 increased. Ultrastructural changes were found in the livers of broilers fed 100% contami-nated corn. In conclusion, diets containing AFB1 and AFB2 could induce pathological lesions in the livers, slightly change the serum biochemical parameters, and damage the hepatic antioxidant functions when the in-clusion of AFB1- and AFB2-contaminated corn reached or exceeded 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]