Influence of dietary Spirulina platensis powder individually or in combination with mannan oligosaccharide on growth performance, serum metabolites, and gut health of broiler chickens exposed to aflatoxin B1

This study investigated the efficacy of dietary supplementation with Spirulina platensis powder (SP), both individually and in combination with mannan oligosaccharide (MOS), on the growth performance, serum metabolites, and gut health of broiler chickens exposed to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). A total of 450 male broiler chickens (ROSS 308) were randomly allocated into one of six treatment groups with fifteen broilers per each. Experimental groups were: negative control (NC, no additives), positive control (PC, exposure to AFB1 without additives), PC + toxin binder (TB, 0.5 g/kg), PC + SP (3 g/kg), PC + MOS (2 g/kg), and PC + (SP + MOS). The experimental period lasted for 42 days. The SP + MOS combination improved feed conversion ratio compared to the PC and TB groups (p < 0.05). In serum metabolites, the positive control (PC) group exhibited significantly decreased glucose and increased triglyceride concentrations compared with the other dietary treatments (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the liver enzymes activity including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were influenced by the treatments (p < 0.05). A significant increase in Lactobacillus counts was observed in the MOS and SP+MOS groups (p < 0.05). Also, dietary supplementation with SP+MOS improved villus surface area in broilers (p < 0.05). In conclusion, addition of SP and MOS, particularly in combination, can mitigate the adverse effects of aflatoxin B1 in broiler chickens.