Protective Effects of Milk Thistle (Silybum Marianum) Against Aflatoxin B1 in Broiler Chicks (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Chicken meat is an important source of nutrients for human consumption. Broiler feed is exposed to various contaminants during the process of production, transportation and storage. Moisture is the most important factor favoring the growth of fungus during these stages while the hygienic condition and quality control measure are normally poor in the area under study. One of the important injurious agents is mycotoxins as it has hepatotoxic, hepatocarcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic effects in many animal species (IARC, 1987). Mycotoxins are metabolites from moulds. Aflatoxins, a group of closely related biologically active mycotoxins, are produced by strains of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Even though, 18 different Aflatoxins have been identified, only Aflatoxins [B.sub.1], [B.sub.2], [G.sub.1] and [G.sub.2] have been detected as natural contaminants of feedstuffs. In a previous study Tedesco et al. (2004) the peanuts and cereals have been reported as having afore-mentioned natural contaminants.