A 3-wk feeding study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of turmeric (Curcuma longa)
powder (
TMP), containing a known level of
curcumin, and a
hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (
HSCAS; Improved Milbond-TX, IMTX, an adsorbent, Milwhite Inc., Houston, TX) to ameliorate the adverse effects of
aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) in broiler chicks. Four pen replicates of 5 chicks each were assigned to each of 7 dietary treatments, which included the basal diet not containing
TMP,
HSCAS, or AFB(1) (control); basal diet supplemented with 0.5% food grade
TMP that contained 1.48% total
curcuminoids (74 mg/kg); basal diet supplemented with 0.5%
HSCAS; basal diet supplemented with 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1); basal diet supplemented with 0.5%
TMP and 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1); basal diet supplemented with 0.5%
HSCAS and 1.0 mg/kgAFB(1); and basal diet supplemented with 0.5%
TMP, 0.5%
HSCAS, and 1.0 mg/kg AFB(1). The addition of
TMP to the AFB(1) diet significantly (P < 0.05) improved the
weight gain of chicks, and the addition of
HSCAS to the AFB(1) diet significantly (P < 0.05) improved feed intake and
weight gain, and reduced relative liver weight. The addition of
TMP or
HSCAS and
TMP with
HSCAS ameliorated the adverse effects of AFB(1) on some of the serum chemistry parameters (total
protein,
albumin,
cholesterol,
calcium). Further, decreased
antioxidant functions in terms of level of
peroxides,
superoxide dismutase activity, and total
antioxidant concentration in liver homogenate due to AFB1 were also alleviated by the inclusion of
TMP,
HSCAS, or both. The reduction in the severity of hepatic microscopic lesions due to supplementation of the AFB(1) diet with
TMP and
HSCAS demonstrated the protective action of the
antioxidant and adsorbent used in the present study.