Metabolism of lutein diester during aflatoxicosis in young chickens

Young chickens were fed from hatching until 3 wk of age with a white corn-soy diet amended with lutein diester to supply 25 micrograms lutein/g diet and with varying amounts of aflatoxin (0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 micrograms/g diet). The lutein diester was added as a stabilized, microencapsulated extract of marigold (Tagetes erecta) petals. Aflatoxin had no significant effect on the partial conversion of lutein diester to lutein monoester and lutein that occurs in the jejunum of normal chickens. The concentration of lutein in the jejunal mucosa was increased slightly by intermediate levels of aflatoxin and depressed by higher levels. Aflatoxin depressed lutein (the dominant form) in serum by up to 40%. Aflatoxin enhanced the lutein accumulation in the liver as the monoester (four-fold) and diester (12-fold). Only minor effects of aflatoxin on the carotenoid content of the toe webs were noted in birds fed lutein diester. These results imply that the main effects of aflatoxin on the utilization of lutein diester are to impair the absorption of lutein, which is an intestinal product of dietary lutein diester, and to sequester lutein as lutein monoester and lutein diester in the liver.