Effects of dietary aflatoxin B1 on growth performance,body composition,haematological parameters and histopathology of juvenile Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) on growth performance, haematological parameters and histological changes in juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Six practical diets (455 g kg^‐1 protein, 78 g kg^‐1 lipid) with different levels of AFB₁ (0, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000 μg kg^?1) were formulated. Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of shrimps (initial weight: 0.52 g). The results showed that shrimp fed with control diet (0 μg kg^?1 AFB₁) had significant higher weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) than other groups. However, there were no significant differences in feed efficiency (FE) or hepatosomatic index (HSI) among all groups. Compared to the control diet, AFB₁ supplementation significantly changed the activities of shrimp serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total antioxidant capacity (T‐AOC) and glutathione S‐transferase (GST) and the content of cholesterol (CHO). Histological damages were identified in the hepatopancreas of shrimp when dietary AFB₁ level was over 107.6 μg kg^?1. Based on this study, it was concluded that the AFB₁ level in Pacific white shrimp diet should be <38.1 μg kg^?1.