Evaluation of Growth Performance, Nitrogen Balance and Blood Metabolites of Mutton Sheep Fed an Ammonia-Treated Aflatoxin B1-Contaminated Diet

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of an aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-contaminated diet treated with ammonia on the diet detoxification and growth performance, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen utilization, and blood metabolites in sheep. Twenty-four female mutton sheep with an initial body weight of 50 ± 2.5 kg were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) control diet (C); (2) aflatoxin diet (T; control diet supplemented with 75 μg of AFB1/kg of dry matter); and (3) ammoniated diet (AT; ammoniated aflatoxin diet). The results showed decreases (p < 0.05) in average daily feed intake, nutrient digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and ether extract, and retained nitrogen, and an increase (p < 0.05) in urine nitrogen excretion in sheep fed diet T compared with those fed the other diets. In comparison to C and AT, feeding T decreased (p < 0.05) the concentrations of total protein, immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M, superoxide dismutase, and total antioxidants and increased (p < 0.05) the concentrations of alanine amino transferase, malondialdehyde, and interleukin-6. In summary, ammonia treatment has the potential to decrease the concentration of AFB1 and alleviate the adverse effects of AFB1.