Effect of feeding corn distillers dried grains with solubles naturally contaminated with deoxynivalenol on growth performance, meat quality, intestinal permeability, and utilization of energy and nutrients in broiler chickens

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of feeding corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) naturally contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) on growth performance, meat quality, intestinal permeability, and utilization of energy and nutrients in broiler chickens. Two trials (growth and metabolism trials) were conducted. In the growth trial, a total of four hundred 7-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were allotted to 1 of 5 dietary treatments with 8 replicates in a completely randomized design. The diets were formulated to contain 5 inclusion levels of 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20% DON-contaminated DDGS in diets and were fed to birds for 21 d. Results indicated that increasing inclusion levels of DON-contaminated DDGS decreased (linear, P < 0.01) BW gain and feed efficiency of broiler chickens. The relative organ weights of the liver and breast were decreased (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) by increasing inclusion levels of DON-contaminated DDGS in diets. The transepithelial electrical resistance values as a measure of intestinal permeability were decreased (linear, P < 0.05) by increasing inclusion levels of DON-contaminated DDGS in diets. In the metabolism trial, a total of twenty four 22-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were allotted to 1 of 3 dietary treatments consisting of 0, 10, or 20% inclusion of DON-contaminated DDGS in diets. Each treatment had 8 replicates. Increasing inclusion levels of DON-contaminated DDGS in diets decreased (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) MEn (AMEn and TMEn) and apparent total tract retention of nitrogen and acid-hydrolyzed ether extract in diets. In conclusion, feeding diets containing more than 10% DON-contaminated DDGS to broiler chickens has negative effects on growth performance, intestinal permeability, and utilization of energy and nutrients in diets. Therefore, it is suggested that if DDGS is contaminated with DON, inclusion level of DDGS should be limited, possibly at less than 5.0% in broiler diets.