Seric mineral concentrations and hepatic and renal functions of chickens intoxicated by aflatoxin and treated with sodic montmorillonite

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as concentrações séricas de minerais e as funções hepática e renal de frangos de corte intoxicados, experimentalmente, com 3 ppm de aflatoxina, e submetidos a diferentes concentrações de montmorilonita sódica na dieta. Foram utilizados 720 frangos, machos, da linhagem Cobb, divididos em seis tratamentos: T1, dieta normal; T2, dieta com aflatoxina (3 ppm); T3, dieta com montmorilonita sódica (0,25%); T4, dieta com aflatoxina (3 ppm) + montmorilonita sódica (0,25%); T5, dieta com montmorilonita sódica (0,5%); T6, dieta com aflatoxina (3 ppm) + montmorilonita sódica (0,5%), com seis repetições por tratamento. A dieta com 3 ppm de aflatoxina (T2) resultou em uma diminuição significativa na concentração sérica de proteínas totais, albumina, globulinas e aspartato amino transferase; a concentração sérica de ácido úrico diminuiu, significativamente, na dieta com aflatoxina (3 ppm) + momtmorilonita sódica a 0,25%; ocorreu diminuição significativa nas concentrações séricas de fósforo na dieta com aflatoxina + montmorilonita sódica a 0,5%. A aflatoxina na concentração de 3 ppm altera a função hepática de frangos de corte; o uso da montmorilonita sódica, na concentração de 0,5%, é eficaz na prevenção dos efeitos tóxicos da aflatoxina, mas diminui os níveis séricos de fósforo.The objective of this work was to evaluate the seric mineral concentrations and the hepatic and renal functions of broiler chicken, experimentally intoxicated with 3 ppm of aflatoxin, and submitted to different concentrations of sodic montmorillonite in the diet. In this study 720 Cobb's male broiler chickens were used, which were divided in six treatments: T1, normal diet; T2, diet with aflatoxin (3 ppm); T3, diet with sodic montmorillonite (0.25%); T4, diet with aflatoxin (3 ppm) + sodic montmorillonite (0.25%); T5, diet with sodic montmorillonite (0.50%); T6, diet with aflatoxin (3 ppm) + sodic montmorillonite (0.5%); with six repetitions of each treatment. The diet with 3 ppm of aflatoxin resulted in a significant decrease in serum concentrations of total protein, albumin, globulins and aspartate aminotransferase; there was significant decrease of seric concentration of uric acid in the diet with aflatoxin (3 ppm) + 0.25% sodic montmorillonite; in the diet with aflatoxin + 0.5% sodic montmorillonite there was significant decrease in seric concentrations of phosphorus. Aflatoxin in the diet (3 ppm) causes change in the hepatic function of broiler chickens. The use of 0.5% sodic montmorillonite is effective in preventing the toxic effects of aflatoxins, but causes decrease in phosphorus seric levels

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved