Effect of experimentally induced aflatoxicosis on haematological parameters and bone marrow morphology in mulard ducks

Abstract. In this experiment, the toxic effects of AFB1 on some haematological parameters were investigated in mulard ducks, namely red blood cell counts (RBC), haemoglobin content (HGB), haematocrit (HCT), platelet counts (PLT), white blood cell counts (WBC), differential white blood cell counts (WBC %), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Experiments were conducted with 4 groups of 20 10-day-old mulard ducks each. The groups were as followed: group I – control, fed a standard compound feed according to the species and the age; group II – experimental, whose feed was supplemented with 0.5 mg/kg AFB1, group III – experimental, supplemented with 0.8 mg/kg AFB1 and group IV – experimental, supplemented with 0.5 mg/kg AFB1 and 2 g/kg Mycotox NG. The duration of the experiment was 42 days. Haematological analysis performed on the 21st day of the trial showed reduction in RBC, HCT, HGB and PLT and increased total WBC in groups II and III. The percentages of the different leukocyte classes (differential leukocyte counts) demonstrated increased proportion of heterophils and lower percentages of lymphocytes. The observed changed tended to become more pronounced on the 42nd day of the experiment. There were no statistically significant changes in MCV, MCH, and MCHC, as well as in eosinophil, basophil, and monocyte percentages between control and treated groups (р>0.05). The supplementation of the feed with mycosorbent – Mycotox NG (experimental group IV) reduced partly the harmful effect of AFB1 on the studied haematological indices