Dietary L-carnitine and vitamin-E; a strategy to combat ochratoxin-A induced immunosuppression

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary ochratoxin A (OA), in the presence and absence of L-carnitine (LC) and vitamin E (VE), on the humoral immune responses of White Leghorn cockerels (WLC). One-day old white male Leghorn chicks were divided into 12 groups, having 20 birds each and were offered ration contaminated with OA (1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg feed) alone and concurrently with LC (1.0 g/kg) and/or VE (0.2 g/kg), for 42 days. The humoral immune responses were accessed by lymphoproliferative response to avian tuberculin, in-vivo phagosomes activity to carbon particles and antibody response to the sheep red blood cells (SRBCs). The dietary addition of OA alone suppressed the humoral immune responses, however, the exposure of birds to 1.0 mg/kg OA in the presence of LC and/or VE showed a significant reduction in OA induced immunotoxicity. This protective response was absent in the birds fed 2.0 mg/kg OA in the presence and absence of LC and/or VE. Histopathological and morphometric examination of the bursa of Fabricius exhibited a decrease in the severity and frequency of OA induced lesions in the presence of dietary LC and/or VE. The use of LC and VE as dietary supplement, can effectively overcome OA (≤1.0 mg/kg) induced immunosuppression.