Influence of a hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate and virginiamycin on aflatoxicosis in broiler chicks.

Male broiler chicks were fed diets containing 0 or 3.5 mg aflatoxin (AF)/kg from 1 to 28 d of age. The diets were amended with either .5% hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS), 16.5 mg virginiamycin (VM)/kg of diet, or .5% HSCAS + 16.5 mg VM/kg of diet to determine the effects of these compounds during aflatoxicosis. When compared with controls (814 g), BW gains were significantly lower for broilers fed the AF (731 g) or AF+VM (716 g) diets. No differences were found between the BW gains of chicks fed diets without aflatoxin (814 g) and those of chicks fed AF+HSCAS (793 g) or AF+HSCAS+VM (803 g), indicating approximately 75% protection against decreased BW gain by HSCAS and 87% protection by the HSCAS+VM combination. Relative weights of the liver and kidney and creatine kinase activity were significantly increased and albumin, total protein, cholesterol, uric acid, and inorganic phosphorus concentrations were decreased in chicks fed the diet containing AF alone. With the exception of albumin, HSCAS was effective in restoring these values to control values. The findings of this research suggest that HSCAS and HSCAS+VM can counteract some of the toxic effects of AF in growing broiler chicks.