Oxidative stress, hemato-immunological, and intestinal morphometry changes induced by ochratoxin A in APRI rabbits and the protective role of probiotics

Mahmoud H El-Deep; Khairy A Amber; Salwa Elgendy; Mahmoud A O Dawood; Enas M Elwakeel; Bilal Ahamad Paray

doi:10.1007/s11356-020-09837-3

Oxidative stress, hemato-immunological, and intestinal morphometry changes induced by ochratoxin A in APRI rabbits and the protective role of probiotics

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Oct;27(28):35439-35448. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-09837-3. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Authors

Mahmoud H El-Deep¹, Khairy A Amber², Salwa Elgendy², Mahmoud A O Dawood³, Enas M Elwakeel², Bilal Ahamad Paray⁴

Affiliations

¹ Animal Production Research Institute, Sakha Station, Kafr El-Sheikh, 33717, Egypt.
² Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, 33516, Egypt.
³ Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, 33516, Egypt. mahmouddawood55@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 32594444
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09837-3

Abstract

This work studied the protective effects of Aspergillus awamori against ochratoxin A (OTA)-induced toxicity in APRI maternal line rabbits. A total number of 48 APRI line weanling rabbits (5 weeks) were divided into 4 groups (12 rabbits each) and fed the basal diet, 30 ppb/kg diet of OTA, 1 g/kg diet of A. awamori, and a mixture of OTA and A. awamori for 8 weeks. OTA reduced the final body weight and weight gain as well as the intestinal villi length and thickness, whereas increased the feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Rabbits fed diets with OTA showed significantly reduced crude protein, lipids, and fibers apparent digestibility coefficients (P < 0.05). The red blood cells and hemoglobin were significantly decreased in the OTA group comparing with the other groups (P < 0.05). The blood total protein and albumin displayed significantly lower levels by OTA than the other groups. In contrast, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea, and creatinine levels were significantly increased by OTA (P < 0.05). Phagocytic activity (PA) and phagocytic index (PI) showed significantly (P < 0.05) decreased levels in OTA-contaminated group, while rabbits fed A. awamori significantly showed the highest PA and PI levels (P < 0.05). Dietary A. awamori kept the levels of PA and PI in rabbits fed OTA significantly higher than those fed without A. awamori (P < 0.05) and not significantly different from the control group (P > 0.05). Catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) displayed significantly lower levels in the OTA group, while malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly higher than the other groups (P < 0.05). Rabbits fed OTA-contaminated diets displayed significantly lower CAT and SOD and higher MDA than rabbits fed OTA combined with A. awamori (P < 0.05). Our results indicated that dietary A. awamori ameliorated the damage in APRI rabbits fed OTA through alleviation of oxidative stress and immunity.

Keywords: APRI rabbits; Growth performance; Histomorphology; Immunity; Ochratoxin A; Oxidative status; Probiotics.

MeSH terms

Animal Feed / analysis
Animals
Diet
Ochratoxins*
Oxidative Stress
Probiotics*
Rabbits

Substances

Ochratoxins
ochratoxin A

Grants and funding

RSP-2019/144/King Saud University