Evaluation of the Efficacy of Myco-ad in Preventing Fumonisin Toxicity in Broiler Chicks

The dietary use of 0.25% Myco-Ad has been proven to effectively prevent the toxic effects of aflatoxin, ochratoxin and T-2 toxin in broilers. Studies were conducted to evaluate the fumonisin (FUM) adsorption capacity of Myco-Ad and its efficacy in preventing the deleterious effects of high levels of FUM in broiler chicks; as part of the regulatory anti-mycotoxin additives (AMA) approval process in Brazil. Six hundred dayold Cobb male chicks were placed in battery cages randomly distributed into 5 treatments with 12 replications each and fed a basal corn-soy diet containing or exceeding NRC recommendations. All ingredients used were tested free of mycotoxins contamination. Treatments were: 1 basal diet; 2 basal + 0.5% Myco-Ad; 3 basal + 100 ppm FUM; 4 basal + 100 ppm FUM + 0.25% Myco-Ad and 5 basal + 100 ppm FUM + 0.5% Myco-Ad. FUM was obtained from a culture of Fusarium moniliforme containing 94.4% Fumonisina B1 and 5.6% Fumonisina B2 produced in LAMIC. Myco-Ad adsorption capacity of 2.5 ppm FUM was 74.6% at pH3. Results at 21 days of age indicated that broiler fed 100 ppm FUM contaminated diet presented significant lower feed intake (4.5%), smaller body weight (9.1%), poorer feed conversion (5.6%) and altered sphinganine:sphingosine ratio in blood (31.4%) than chicks fed the control diet. The addition of either 0.25 or 0.5% Myco-Ad significantly improved the feed intake (2%), body weight (4.6%) and sphinganine:sphingosine ratio in blood (54.3%) observed in chicks fed the FUM contaminated diet. Liver size and plasma proteins were not significantly affected by the treatments. The addition of 0.5% Myco-Ad to the chick diet did not show any statistical difference in the parameters measured compared to the control diet, demonstrating its lack of interference with the absorption of nutrients. These results indicated that 0.25% Myco-Ad was effective in reducing the toxic effects of FUM in broiler chicks; and therefore met the requirements for AMA registration in Brazil. Poultry Science Vol. 91 Suppl. 1 p 129 2012 Table 1. Effects of different levels of Myco-Ad on performance, liver weight, and blood parameters of broilers exposed to FUM at 21 days of age. a, b, c Means within columns with no common superscripts differ significantly (P≤ 0.05) TREATMENT Body weight g Feed intake g Adjusted FCR Relative liver weight % Total plasma proteins g/dl SA:SO Control 717 a 1145 a 1.60 a 3.15 a 2.95 a 0.51 a 5 kg Myco-Ad 694 ab 1129 ab 1.63 a 3.15 a 3.07 a 0.58 a 100 ppm FUM 651 c 1093 c 1.69 b 3.30 a 2.67 a 0.35 b 100 ppm FUM + 2.5 kg Myco-Ad 679 b 1115 b 1.64 a 3.21 a 2.74 a 0.54 a 100 ppm FUM + 5.0 kg Myco-Ad 681 b 1117 b 1.64 a 3.28 a 2.74 a 0.53 a