Rectal Temperature and Histology of Pituitary Gland in Newzealand White Rabbits Fed Diets with Varying Levels of Aflatoxin
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Keywords
Aflatoxin, histology, Newzealand rabbits, rectal temperature, pituitary gland
Abstract
The most toxic and commonly abundant aflatoxins which contaminate foodstuff significantly is aflatoxin and the liver is its prime target organ. The severity of aflatoxin contamination is influenced by environmental factors such as excessive moisture, both when the crop is in the field and in storage, high temperature and humidity and variations in harvesting practices. The factors influencing their production include favorable temperature range between 24 to 35oC and relative humidity of 7 to 10% which, in most cases is rampant within tropical regions. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of different levels of aflatoxin in diets on the rectal temperature and the histology of the pituitary gland of Newzealand white female rabbits. The study treatments involved the diet without aflatoxin while treatments 2, 3 and 4 had total aflatoxin incorporated at different levels as follows; treatment1–control (concentrate mash diet without aflatoxin), treatment 2– concentrate mash containing 100 ppb of aflatoxin, treatment 3- concentrate mash containing 200 ppb of aflatoxin and treatment 4- concentrate mash containing 400 ppb of aflatoxin in feed dry matter. At the laboratory, the rabbits were anesthetized through cotton wool socked chloroform in glass cage, followed by an application of a blunt trauma on the head to complete the humane sacrificing. The skull of the rabbits was opened and the anterior pituitary gland harvested. Tissue processing for histological examination was carried out in the laboratory according to the procedures provided. The study found significantly high rectal temperature for rabbits in treatment 4, but histological state of the pituitary glands did not differ among all the treatments. It is recommended that diets fed to rabbits should not contain aflatoxin levels that exceeds the allowed quantity to avoid possible negative effect on one organ or the other.
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Jackson K. Kitilit, Department of Animal Science and Management, University of Eldoret, P. O. Box 1125 (30100), Eldoret, Kenya
Department of Animal Science and Management, University of Eldoret, Kenya