Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination of animal feed and food including meat and dairy products, even at very low, ppb, levels can adversely affect human and animal health. This study assessed the effect of yogurt whey addition at 5% to the drinking water of broiler chickens fed AFB1-contaminated diets on the resulting AFB1 residues in organs (liver, kidney), and meat (breast, leg). Groups that received whey in their drinking water showed reductions in AFB1 of 55.46% (1.19 to 0.43 ng/g), 37.68% (0.69 to 0.53 ng/g), and 59.35% (28.81 to 11.71 ng/g) in leg and breast, respectively, at the end of week 6. The concentration of AFB1 in liver, kidney, and gizzard was reduced by 60.68 % (1.88 to 0.74 ng/g), 60.64% (2.06 to 0.81 ng/g), and 52.73% (1.10 to 0.52 ng/g), respectively, at week 6 compared to those without whey addition. It is suggested that aflatoxin B1 was biodegraded by the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in yogurt whey, which included Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus lactis when whey was added to poultry drinking water.

To Cite This Article: AL-Ruwaili M, Alkhalaileh NI, Herzallah SM, Rawashdeh A, Fataftah A and Holley R, 2018. Reduction of aflatoxin b1 residues in meat and organs of broiler chickens by lactic acid bacteria. Pak Vet J, 38(3): 325-328. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2018.064