Abstract
The objective of the study was to assess the comparative effects of Vernonia amygdalina leaf meal (VALM) and zinc (Zn) on the serum proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines as well as DNA damage of cocks-fed aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contaminated diets. A total of 250 sexually mature Isa White cocks of 24 weeks old were randomly distributed into five groups (treatments) with each containing 50 birds, which was replicated five times with 10 birds per replicate. Cocks in group A were fed basal diet only, group B was fed basal diet contaminated with 1 mg AFB1/kg diet, group C received diet B (basal + 1 mg/kg AFB1) with 50 mg/kg Zn, group D was fed diet B with 2.5 g/kg VALM, and group E received diet B with 5.0 g/kg VALM, respectively. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum with fresh feed added to the feed troughs at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., respectively. While serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated among the cocks on diet B, significant (P < 0.05) reductions were recorded among cocks on diets C, D, and E. Conversely, birds in group B had significant (P < 0.05) depression in serum interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) while improvements (P < 0.05) were recorded among cocks in groups C, D, and E, respectively. Therefore, the inclusion of VALM offset the adverse physiological effects of AFB1 observed among group B birds. The effects were comparable with the results presented by the cocksfed diet containing Zn.