Effects of Dietary Baicalin on Aflatoxin B1-Induced Growth Performance and Liver Health in Ducklings

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic secondary metabolite produced by Aspergillus species. Its extensive contamination of animal feed and human food poses significant health hazards to livestock and humans, with hepatotoxicity being a primary concern. This study investigated the protective effect of baicalin on AFB1-induced liver injury in ducklings. In the first experiment, ducklings were administered AFB1 at doses of 0, 6, 12, or 24 μg/kg body weight/day for 7 days to identify the optimal concentration for establishing a model of AFB1-induced growth performance and liver injury. Administration of AFB1, particularly at the higher doses (12 and 24 μg/kg body weight/day), significantly reduced growth performance and induced structural and functional liver injury (p < 0.05). In a second experiment, ducklings were administered AFB1 (12 μg/kg body weight/day) with or without baicalin (25-100 mg/kg body weight/day) for 7 days. Dietary baicalin significantly increased the serum albumin level; reduced the serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels; improved growth performance; and ameliorated structural and functional liver injury in ducklings exposed to AFB1 (p < 0.05). The results indicate that dietary baicalin alleviates AFB1-induced liver injury and growth performance decline in ducklings. Hence, baicalin could serve as a potential feed additive to reduce the harmful effects of AFB1 in the poultry breeding industry.