Turmeric Powder Counteracts Oxidative Stress and Reduces AFB1 Content in the Liver of Broilers Exposed to the EU Maximum Levels of the Mycotoxin

The most frequent adverse effects of AFB1 in chicken are low performance, the depression of the immune system, and a reduced quality of both eggs and meat, leading to economic losses. Since oxidative stress plays a major role in AFB1 toxicity, natural products are increasingly being used as an alternative to mineral binders to tackle AFB1 toxicosis in farm animals. In this study, an in vivo trial was performed by exposing broilers for 10 days to AFB1 at dietary concentrations approaching the maximum limits set by the EU (0.02 mg/kg feed) in the presence or absence of turmeric powder (TP) (included in the feed at 400 mg/kg). The aims were to evaluate (i) the effects of AFB1 on lipid peroxidation, antioxidant parameters, histology, and the expression of drug transporters and biotransformation enzymes in the liver; (ii) the hepatic accumulation of AFB1 and its main metabolites (assessed using an in-house-validated HPLC-FLD method); (iii) the possible modulation of the above parameters elicited by TP. Broilers exposed to AFB1 alone displayed a significant increase in lipid peroxidation in the liver, which was completely reverted by the concomitant administration of TP. Although no changes in glutathione levels and antioxidant enzyme activities were detected in any treatment group, AFB1 significantly upregulated and downregulated the mRNA expression of CYP2A6 and Nrf2, respectively. TP counteracted such negative effects and increased the hepatic gene expression of selected antioxidant enzymes (i.e., CAT and SOD2) and drug transporters (i.e., ABCG2), which were further enhanced in combination with AFB1. Moreover, both AFB1 and TP increased the mRNA levels of ABCC2 and ABCG2 in the duodenum. The latter changes might be implicated in the decrease in hepatic AFB1 to undetectable levels (