Effects of feeding deoxynivalenol contaminated wheat on growth performance, organ weights and histological parameters of the intestine of broiler chickens

A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of moderate dietary concentrations of deoxynivalenol (DON) during a 21-day feeding experiment on the performance of broilers. Fifteen 1-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into two groups. The control group was fed non-contaminated diet. Another group of broilers was fed a diet naturally contaminated with 5 mg DON/kg diet. Deoxynivalenol had no effect (p > 0.05) on feed consumption, feed conversion, body-weight gain, live body weight or mortality. The absolute and relative weight of the organs (gizzard, pancreas, heart, spleen, colon and caecum) were not altered by the dietary inclusion of DON contaminated grain. However, both the absolute and relative weight of small intestine was decreased (p < 0.01) in DON fed broilers compared to the controls. No gross lesions were detected in any of the organs of birds fed contaminated wheat during the feeding trial. The microscopic examination revealed that, the height and the width of villi in duodenum decreased (p < 0.05) in birds fed DON contaminated wheat compared to controls. On the other hand the height and the width of jejunum villi were not affected (p > 0.05). This study indicates that feeding DON for 21 days to broiler chickens at a concentration of up to 5 mg/kg of diet influenced the weight of the small intestine as well as intestinal histology, especially the duodenum, as evidenced by shorter and thinner villi. In conclusion, diets with DON contamination below levels that induce negative impact on health and performance could affect small intestinal morphology in broilers.