Interactions of aflatoxin and the antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene in two-week-old chicks.

Two-week dietary administration of 2500 ppb aflatoxin was sufficient to cause a decrease in bursal weights and a reduction in the number of splenic leukocytes in chicks. No significant effects on weight gain or feed efficiency were evident. The chicks also had elevated heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratios, suggesting a heightened reaction to stress. This effect could be blocked by dietary administration of the antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) at a concentration eight-fold over that normally present to preserve control feed. The BHT treatment increased the activities of the enzymes glutathione-S-transferase, aniline hydroxylase and O-demethylase, which metabolize aflatoxins in the liver.