10.3 Effect of Garlic Oil Supplementation on Laying Hens Fed with T-2 Toxin Contaminated Diet
Ancsin Zsolt, Erdélyi Márta, Balogh Krisztián, Bócsai Andrea and Mézes Miklós
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Szent István University, H-2103 Gödöllõ, Hungary.
Abstract:
The aim of present study was to investigate whether garlic essential oil, with natural organosulfur compound content, that possesses free radical scavenging activity, is able to eliminate the adverse effects of T-2 mycotoxin contamination in laying hens‟ diet. Hens were divided randomly into three treatment groups: Control (C), Control + T-2 toxin (T) and Control + T- 2 toxin + Garlic essential oil (GT) (n=15 in each group). The Control group (C) was fed with commercial broiler diet without added antioxidants (basal diet). In the case of group T the basal diet was experimentally contaminated with T-2 toxin with a dosage of 2.05 mg/kg feed. In group GT the feed of T group was complemented with 0.30 g/kg feed garlic essential oil. Experimental diets were fed for 21 days. During this period, the egg production was recorded daily, and egg samples for quality measurements were taken on weekly basis. On day 21 five randomly selected birds from each group were exterminated, and blood, liver, muscle, kidney and spleen samples were taken to determine the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), as meta-stable end product of free radical initiated lipid peroxidation, and that of the reduced glutathione (GSH), the most important sulfhydryl containing low molecular weight antioxidant, as well as the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx). There were no significant changes in egg production and in the biochemical parameters of blood samples. However, significant changes were found in egg quality parameters as we measured, such as significantly lower egg-length (p<0.01), egg-weight (p<0.001), egg shell thickness and weight (p<0.001) in group T as compared to the control group. Contrary to this, in group GT not just significantly higher (p<0.001) egg-length, egg- weight, eggshell thickness and weight were measured as compared to group T, but egg-length (p<0.01) and egg weight (p<0.001) were significantly higher compared to the Control group, as well.Furthermore, in the muscle, kidney and spleen samples of group GT, significantly lower MDA contents were measured as compared both to the mycotoxin treated (T) and the control group (p<0.001). Our results suggest that 0.30 g/kg feed garlic essential oil not just successfully eliminated the adverse effects of 2.05 mg/kg feed T-2 toxin contamination, but in contempt of this pro-oxidant challenge it was still able to ameliorate the egg-weight.
Support: TÁMOP TÁMOP 4.2.2./B-10/1-2010-0011 „Development of a complex educational assistance/support system for talented students and prospective researchers at the Szent István University” project and TÁMOP-4.2.1.B-11/2/KMR-2011-0003 „Improvement of education and research quality at the Szent István University”
Key words: broiler, contamination, essential oil, garlic, malondialdehyde, organosulfur, spleen.
