- 1Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.
- 2Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1
) is a common feed contaminant that adversely affects bird performance
and product quality. A total of 600 7-day-old quail chicks were randomly
allotted to eight experimental groups in a completely randomized design
with five replicate pens and 15 quails per pen. Experimental treatments
including two levels of AFB1 (0 and 2.5 mg/kg) and 4 levels
of Nigella sativa (NS) (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of diet) were offered from 7
to 35 days of age to quail chicks. Although feeding of AFB1
impaired gain (G) and feed conversion ratio, dietary NS increased G
(p < 0.05). Relative weight of bursa of Fabricius increased with
incremental levels of NS (p < 0.05). AFB1 decreased the
size of heart, but incremental levels of NS increased the relative
weight of heart (p < 0.05). The liver hypertrophy was observed in birds receiving AFB1 (p < 0.05). The birds in AFB1 group had smaller testes than other groups (p < 0.05). Hematocrit value in birds fed AFB1
was lower than that in other groups (p < 0.05) and incremental
levels of NS increased blood hematocrit (p < 0.05). Amount of
malondialdehyde (MDA) in meat samples of the birds fed AFB1 was higher than those did not receive toxin but incremental levels of NS decreased the MDA concentration in affected birds (p < 0.05). AFB1 suppressed the humoral immunity of the birds while NS augmented the antibody titres against sheep red blood cell and Newcastle disease virus antigens (p < 0.05). AFB1
decreased lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and spore-forming bacteria (SFB)
but increased Escherichia coli (E. coli; p < 0.05). However, NS
increased LAB and SFB but decreased the E. coli populations
(p < 0.05). This study revealed that NS as a biological detoxifier
could relatively attenuate the negative effects of AFB1 in quails.
Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
KEYWORDS:
Japanese quail; black cumin; immunity; meat quality; performance
