AMELIORATIVE POTENTIALS OF Psidium guajava LEAF MEAL ON ELECTROLYTE BALANCE, SERUM PROTEIN, ENZYMES AND GLUCOSE IN HENS FED AFLATOXIN B1-CONTAMINATED DIETS

Abstract

The poultry industry faces significant challenges due to mycotoxin contamination, particularly aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in feed. Therefore, developing nutritional interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of mycotoxins is crucial for optimizing bird productivity. This study assessed the ameliorative potentials of Psidium guajava leaf meal (PGLM) on electrolyte balance, serum protein, enzymes and glucose in hens fed aflatoxin B1-contaminated diets. A total number of 96 point-of-lay Isa Brown pullets were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments for 16 weeks. Diet A was the control/basal diet, Diet B was basal diet with 1mg of AFB1/kg, Diet C was diet B with 5g of PGLM/kg and Diet D was diet B with 10g of PGLM/kg. Each treatment with 24 birds was divided into three replicates in a completely randomized design. The results showed that the electrolyte balance i.e. sodium (150.00), chloride (80.00), phosphate (1.81) and calcium ions (2.40) of hens fed diet B were adversely (P<0.05) affected. However, supplementation with PGLM at 5g/kg (Diet C) showed a protective effect restoring the phosphate ion (2.10), and the inclusion of PGLM at 10g/kg increased the calcium (2.63), sodium (190.00), and chloride ions (85.13) in the birds. Diet B significantly (P<0.05) decreased the serum protein, globulin (11.02), albumin (17.10) and total protein (28.12) and statistically (P>0.05) increased the serum enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (44.10), aspartate aminotransferase (51.00) and glucose (5.28) in the layers compared with birds fed diets A, C, and D. The potential of the leaf meal to ameliorate the impact of the toxin, however, increased with increase in the PGLM concentrations. These findings highlighted the potential of PGLM to mitigate the possible effects of AFB1-induced mycotoxicity in hens