THE EFFECT OF MOISTURE, FEED ADDITIVES AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS ON PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT RETENTION, BLOOD PARAMETERS AND AFLATOXIN IN BROILERS.
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Date
2018-03
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UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN
Abstract
Aflatoxin, a secondary metabolic product of Aspergillus spp is economically important in animal health due to its biological effects, manifested in reduced performance. Eradicating aflatoxin induced disease in poultry is an essential strategy for improving productivity. The objectives of this study were to determine: (i) effects of moisture and temperature on the growth of Aspergillus paraciticus and aflatoxin concentration; (ii) in vitro binding ability of xylanase and herbal extracts to attenuate the growth of Aspergillus paraciticus and (iii) effects of the screened additives and atoxigenic Aspergillus paraciticus on performance and blood parameters of broilers fed aflatoxin containing diet and high, medium and low moisture maize (HMM, MMM and LMM).
Five experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 investigated the in vitro effects of temperature (15oC, 20oC, 25oC, 30oC, 35oC and 40oC) and moisture (4%, 8%, 12%, 16% and 20%) on Aspergillus paraciticus count and aflatoxin concentration in feed inoculated with Aspergillus paraciticus in a 6×5 factorial design. Experiment 2 examined the effects of xylanase, herbal extracts of ginger, turmeric and garlic and their concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/ml) on inhibition of Aspergillus paraciticus in a 4x6 factorial design. Experiment 3 evaluated the effects of dietary aflatoxin concentration (0 and 500 ppb) and herbal extracts on performance, digestibility and blood parameters of broilers in a 2x4 factorial design. Experiment 4 studied the response of broilers to dietary aflatoxin concentration (0 and 500 ppb) with or without atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus in a 2x2 factorial design. Experiment 5 studied the response of broilers to types of maize (HMM, MMM, LMM) and types of binder (0, turmeric, atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus) in a 3x3 factorial design. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (p<0.05) and means were separated using Duncan multiple range test.
The findings of the study were that:
i. Aspergillus paraciticus count and Aflatoxin B1 increased from (1.15-5.52cfu) and (23.07-110.45ng) respectively (p<0.05) as moisture level increased. There were significant (p<0.05) interactions between moisture and temperature on growth of Aspergillus paraciticus and aflatoxin concentration;
ii. herbal extracts at 30mg/ml was most effective in controlling growth of Aspergillus paraciticus and were in the order turmeric>ginger>garlic (p<0.05);
iii. aflatoxin in diet reduced feed intake (30g/bird/day), whereas dietary inclusion garlic, ginger and turmeric increased feed intake (32, 46 and 44g/bird/day respectively). There were significant interactions between dietary aflatoxin concentration and herbs on performance, digestibility and blood parameters of broilers (p<0.05);
iv. dietary atoxigenic Aspergiluus flavus increased feed intake (50g/bird/day), there were significant interactions between dietary aflatoxin concentration and atoxigenic Aspergiluus flavus on performance, digestibility and blood parameters of broilers (p<0.05); and
v. dietary HMM increased feed intake (63.23g/bird/day) relative to LMM (57.54g/bird/day) and MMM (57.25g/bird/day), turmeric and atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus improved performance relative to control (p<0.05).
The study concluded that poultry feed is best stored at 4% moisture and 40oC to control aflatoxin. The use of the herbal extracts and atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus are effective in controlling aflatoxicosis. The study recommends that the strategy of incorporating turmeric and atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus should be used to control Aspergillus paraciticus risk in poultry feed.
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Keywords
MOISTURE, FEED ADDITIVES, BIOLOGICAL AGENTS, PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT RETENTION, BLOOD PARAMETERS, AFLATOXIN, BROILERS