Comparison of the Effects of Probiotic, Curcumin and Sodium Bentonite on Production Performance, Egg Quality, Intestinal Morphology, Microbial Population, and Gene Expression in Laying Japanese Quails Challenged with Aflatoxin B1

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of probiotic (Pro), curcumin (Cur), and sodium bentonite (SB) to alleviate the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on performance, egg quality, intestinal morphology, gut microbiota, and hepatic gene expression in laying Japanese quails. A total of 420 37-day-old laying quails were randomly allocated into 7 treatment groups, with 6 replicates, each of 10 quails for 7 weeks. The treatments were: 1) Control, 2) Control + AFB1 (100 μg/kg), 3) Control + AFB1 + Pro (0.5 g/kg), 4) Control + AFB1 + Cur (100 mg/kg), 5) Control + AFB1 + SB (3 g/kg), 6) Control + AFB1 + Pro (0.5 g/kg) + Cur (100 mg/kg), 7) Control + AFB1 + Pro (0.5 g/kg) + SB (3 g/kg). The addition of dietary supplements, especially the combination of Pro + Cur or SB, ameliorated the adverse effects of AFB1-contaminated diets on egg production, egg weight, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The dietary inclusion of supplements resulted in higher shell thickness and shell weight compared to the control + AFB1 group (P < 0.05). Villus height, villus height: crypt depth and villus surface area of the jejunum were increased by dietary inclusion of Pro, Cur, and SB in contaminated diets. However, the effects on these parameters were more pronounced in birds that received a combined of Pro + Cur (P < 0.05). The combined supplementation of Pro + Cur or SB in AFB1-contaminated diets synergistically increased the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the ileum and reduced the coliform and C. perfringens counts in the ileum and cecum, respectively (P < 0.05). Serum hepatic indices were improved by Pro, Cur, and SB, but a further increase in antioxidant enzymes and reduction in AST and MDA were observed by combination of Pro + Cur (P < 0.05). Increased expression of AHR1 and CYP1A1 genes due to AFB1 was alleviated by supplements. However, there was a synergistic effect of Pro + Cur in the down-regulation of these genes. Overall, these results showed that although dietary Pro, Cur, and SB may ameliorate the toxicity of AFB1, the synergistic effects of Pro + Cur or SB may further mitigate the AFB1-induced toxicity.