CARRYOVER OF AFLATOXIN B1 FROM FEED TO BROILERS' TISSUES AND ITS EFFECT ON CHICKEN PERFORMANCE

Aflatoxins are highly toxic fungal metabolites that occur naturally in feed ingredients in various concentrations. We investigated the effect of dietary levels of aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)) on the growth performance and tissue distribution of AFB(1) and aflatoxin M-1 (AFM(1)) residues in broilers reared under open house production system. One hundred and twenty broilers chicks were randomly assigned to four diets, containing 0 (control), 100, 200 or 400 ng/g of AFB(1) for 42 days and their growth performance and meat quality were analysed. With increasing AFB(1) intake, feed consumption, body weight gain, meat of the carcass and dressing percentage were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced whereas an increase was noted in the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the birds. AFB(1) and AFM(1) residues were readily detectable in both liver and muscle tissues when the birds were fed with >= 200 ng/g AFB(1) in the feed. At 400 ng/g of AFB(1) in the feed, AFB(1) and AFM(1) residues levels in the liver and muscles were 0.071 and 0.048 ng/g, and 0.140 and 0.061 ng/g, respectively. Overall, the concentrations of AFB(1) and AFM(1) were higher in the liver compared to muscle tissues. The study revealed that AFB(1) contamination in the feed affects not only broilers performance but also the consumers through its residues in the poultry meat.