Effectiveness of different types of clay for reducing the detrimental effects of aflatoxin-contaminated diets on performance and serum profiles of weanling pigs.

Three trials were conducted with recently weaned pigs (n = 198) to determine the effects of feeding different types of clay in conjunction with aflatoxin-contaminated diets. In Trial 1, pigs (n = 54; trial length 4 wk) were assigned to either an uncontaminated treatment (NC), 800 ppb of aflatoxin from contaminated corn (AC), or AC with one of four clays. In Trial 2 (n = 81; trial length 5 wk), pigs were assigned to NC, AC (500 ppb of aflatoxin from rice starch), or AC with one of seven types of clay. In both trials, pigs fed AC had decreased ADG and gain:feed ratios (P < .05) compared with controls. The clays differed in their ability to produce gains similar to those of controls. The clays did reduce changes in the serum measurements normally affected by aflatoxin, including albumin, total protein, gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, in a manner similar to their effect on ADG. In Trial 3, pigs (n = 63) were assigned to one of seven diets for 4 wk: NC, AC (800 ppb of aflatoxin) with no clay, AC with one of four levels of a treated Ca bentonite (.25, .5, 1, and 2%), or AC and .5% hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate. The addition of treated Ca bentonite to AC improved ADG (P < .05) and ADFI (P < .01) linearly. Gain:feed ratios were not affected by treatments. The inclusion of treated Ca bentonite to the AC diet linearly decreased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and quadratically decreased ALP and GGT levels (P < .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)