Deleterious substances in Poultry Feed

While the main focus of poultry feeding is to supply nutrients required by poultry for optimum
production. Feedstuffs which supply these nutrients may also carry with them certain deleterious
or toxic substances. Toxins are generally considered to be poisonous substances present in the
feed, often produced by the host plant or by an organism living in the feed, which could adversely
affect the health and wellbeing of animals; impair normal feed digestion or nutrient utilization.
A diet can be perfectly balanced but fail to support optimal growth if it contains deleterious
substances /anti-nutritional factors that adversely affect appetite, feed utilization or animal health.
Toxins may be substances that occur naturally in certain species of plants. Examples are tannins
and phytates; their presence is readily predicted and appropriate adjustments can be made in the
diet formulation.
Toxins can also be the result of contamination by bacteria or fungi. The bacteria themselves may
be toxic or may produce toxic substances. Weed seeds which may also contain noxious substances.
Mycotoxins are metabolites (products of metabolism) of fungi, e.g. ergot alkaloids, ochratoxin A,
zearalenone and the tricothecenes.
Raw soybeans contain trypsin inhibitors and the enzyme urease.
Phytates
Phytic acid is present in many plant seeds, containing 6 phosphorus molecules linked to an organic
compound called inositol. In GIT phytate typically binds calcium and magnesium as well as
phosphorus. In mature cereal grains, 60% to 80% of the total phosphorus is so bound; in soybean
meal, about half of the phosphorus exists as phytate phosphorus. Availability of total phosphorus
from grain sources ranges from 20% in com to 45% in wheat; barley and oats are intermediate at
about 30% availability.
Saponins:
Saponins are a family of compounds found in many plants of economic importance, including
canola. alfalfa, soybeans. peas. sugarbeets, sunflowers, oats, chickpeas and beans.
They are characterized by a bitter taste but are used commercially insuch diverse consumer
products as shampoo, soft drinks, soap and fire extinguishers.
Absorption of certain nutrients, including vitamins and trace minerals is altered by saponins,
presumably due to changes in the structure of the lining of the gut; for example, soybean saponins
bind zinc and render it less available, while ginseng saponins actually increase the absorption of
iron.
Most of the biological activities of saponins arise from the surface activity and their ability to form
complexes with sterols and proteins. In view of the ability to form stable complexes with
cholesterol, it has been found possible to reduce liver and serum cholesterol by using dietary
saponins.
Approximately 20% alfalfa in chick ration (equivalent to 0.37% saponin) depresses the growth
rate. However, the growth of quails remains unaffected by 2% alfalfa top saponins but by 5%
alfalfa root saponins depress growth. Saponins can be extracted with hot water followed extraction
with ethanol or methanol.
Plant toxins
A number of cereals and vegetable protein crops contain natural toxins that can affect bird
performance.

-Cyanides
While there are a number of potential feed ingredients that contain natural cyanides,
cassava, lima beans, and flax is probably the most common and contains relatively high levels of
this toxin.
Cassava meal is derived from the tuberous root of the cassava plant. Ingestion of this material by
animals can result in enlarged thyroids, due to the presence in the meal of cyanogenic glucosides,
the main one being linamarin. It effect on iodine uptake and metabolism in the thyroid, resulting
in reduced output of thyroxin, which regulates tissue oxidative functions.
-Glucosinolates
These occur in members of the Cruciferae family. The genus Brassica is a member of this family
which includes many important feeds and foods such as, rapeseed, mustard, kale, radish, cabbage,
cauliflower, etc. Glucosinolates contain an indole side chain, and on hydrolysis yield thiocyanate
ions which are anti-thyroid or goitrogenic. There is occurrence of liver hemorrhages with the
feeding of rapeseed meal.
Nitrates –
The nitrate content of cereals and plant proteins can vary from 1-20 ppm. Reduction to nitrite,
usually by intestinal microbes, can lead to toxicity. Nitrite is readily absorbed from the gut and
diffuses into red blood cells where it oxidizes the ferrous iron of oxyhemoglobin to the ferric state,
forming methemoglobin, which is unable to transport oxygen. Pulmonary hypertension &
Decreased performance. Nitrate and nitrite may also be present at significant levels in water
sources.
Lathyrism –
As with many species of animals, poultry are susceptible to lathyrism, a metaboliccondition caused
by the consumption of legume seeds of the genus Lathyrus, of which sweet peas are a member.
The seeds are rich in protein (25 to 27%). The causative agents for lathyrism are the lathyrogens,
of which lathyrogen beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) is the principle toxin found. It causes
crippling condition and referred to as neurolathyrism, and secondly a disorder of the collagen and
elastin component of connective tissue resulting in a skeletal and/or vascular disease and referred
to as osteolathyrism. Consuming significant quantities of toxins are depressed performance, ruffled
feathers, enlarged hocks, curled toes, ataxia, leg paralysis and eventually mortality.
Gossypol –
The use of cottonseed products in diets for laying hens may cause two problems; the albumen of
stored eggs developed a pink color and thus the disorder became known as pink egg white; and
secondly there was brown or olive pigment in the yolks as gossypol from the cottonseed pigment
glands interacting with iron in the egg yolk.
Pink albumen discoloration is known to occur spontaneously with ingestion of products from
plants of the botanical order, Malvales. Two naturally occurring cyclic fatty acids have been
isolated from plants known to cause the unusual color. These compounds were called malvalic and
sterculic acids. This is due, in part, to changes in membrane permeability and an increase in yolk
pH. The severity of the condition will depend on the amount of gossypol ingested and can lead to
pasty custard-like or viscous yolks being observed. There are reports of increased embryo
mortality during the first week of incubation when breeders are fed high levels of malvalic or
sterculic acid.
Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins are now virtually ubiquitous in poultry diets, and with ever increasing sophistication
of testing sensitivity, they are routinely isolated as contaminants of most grains and some vegetable
protein ingredients. We still do not know the cause of high levels of mold growth occurring in pre-
harvest grains. Certainly such aerobic molds are more prevalent in hot humid conditions, and insect
damage to the standing crop seems to provide a route of entry for the mold.
Aflatoxin –
Produced by the Aspergillus flavus mold, aflatoxin is one of the most potent carcinogens known.
Usually present in cereals in ppb levels, acute toxicity will occur at 1.2 ppm. Aflatoxin B1 is the
most common form of the toxin. Aflatoxin is found in most cereals, although corn and milo are
the most common hosts. Aflatoxin is a potent hepatotoxin, and so varying degrees of liver
breakdown occur. As toxicity develops, normal liver function declines,and reduced growth rate is
quickly followed by death. Toxicity is more severe when diets are low in either crude protein or
methionine or when the diet contains marginal levels of riboflavin, folic acid or vitamin D3.
Higher levels of antioxidants and/or selenium seems to slow the onset of symptoms and speed up
recovery if aflatoxin is removed from the diet. Treating infected grains with ammonia, hexane or
hydrogen peroxide have all been shown to reduce aflatoxin levels. Under commercial conditions
adding binding agents to the feed seems to reduce the adverse effects of aflatoxin. To date,
aluminosilicates, bentonite clays and yeast cell walls have proven effective.
aflatoxin, interferes with DNA replication, but also with DNA transcription. This in turn causes
a reduction in the amount of available messenger RNA,

Tricothecenes –
Three mycotoxins, namely T2, DAS (diacetoxyscirpenol) and DON (Deoxynivalenol or
vomitoxin) are included in this group. All of these mycotoxins are produced by Fusarium species
molds such as Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium roseum. The tricothecenes affect protein
metabolism and have the characteristic feature of causing mouth lesions in most animals. T2 and
DAS however are more toxic, causing problems at 2 – 4 ppm. Antioxidants may slow the
disruption of protein synthesis, they are not effective long-term.
The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) for example interferes with the protein production
directly at the molecular level. It blocks the peptidyl transferase center of the eukaryotic
ribosome.

Adsorbents and binding agents are being developed that specifically bind these toxins.
Ochratoxin –
As with other mycotoxins, there are a number of forms of ochratoxin, although ochratoxin
ochratoxin A (OA) is by far the most significant for poultry.
OA is produced by a number of molds, with Aspergillus and Penicillium species being most
commonly involved. OA also affects kidney function and so the classical signs are swollen kidneys
and associated increased water intake with wet excreta. Secondary visceral gout, which appears as
urate deposits over the viscera, is common with OA toxicity, due essentially to failure of uric acid
clearance by the kidney tubules. Condition is made worse by feeding diets high in vanadium
(usually as a contaminant of phosphates or limestone). Increasing diet vitamin C levels, especially
in egg layers has some beneficial effects.