Distribution and clearance of aflatoxins B1 and M1 in turkeys fed diets containing 50 or 150 ppb aflatoxin from naturally contaminated corn.

Turkeys were fed a diet containing 50 or 150 ppb aflatoxin for 11 or 13 weeks or fed these diets for 11 weeks and then the control diet for 1 or 2 weeks. Aflatoxins B1 and M1 were found in liver, kidney, gizzard, and feces of poults fed the diets for 11 or 13 weeks. However, in turkeys fed the control diet for 1 or 2 weeks after the 11-week feeding trial, no residues of aflatoxin were found in the feces or tissues, except for some aflatoxin B1 remaining in detectable amounts in the gizzard. No mortality was attributable to aflatoxin, and there were no notable differences among groups in weight gains, feed conversion, or histopathologic changes in selected tissues. The response to a second inoculation with sheep erythrocytes was significantly lower in poults given dietary aflatoxin than in controls. This reduced antibody response was not observed when a Pasteurella multocida vaccine was administered.