Effects of aflatoxin on the immune system of the chick

✍ Scribed by J. S. Virdi; R. P. Tiwari; M. Saxena; V. Khanna; G. Singh; S. S. Saini; D. V. Vadehra

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 401 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0260-437X
• DOI: 10.1002/jat.2550090412

✦ Synopsis

A decreased antibody response to injected sheep red blood cells and weight losses to the extent of 25-38% were observed in the bursa Fabricii and thymus in chicks fed an aflatoxin diet (10% w/w) for 3 weeks. The immune organs did not show any significant histopathological changes. The antibody titre decreased from day 6 of treatment onward until the 15th day, when the antibody titre had disappeared completely in the test chicks. The body weight gain was also less in test chicks (9.7-37.3%) given test feed or test feed along with Salmonella pullorum in water (108cfu ml-') in comparison to chicks given toxin-free diet and water after 3 weeks of feeding trials. The disappearing component in the test chicks' liver homogenate was found to be antigenic by immunoelectrophoretic studies.