Aflatoxins: Their Toxic Effect on Poultry and Recent Advances in Their Treatment

About 25% of total agriculture products are contaminated with aflatoxins (AFs) and other mycotoxins in the world especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, completely losing about 2 – 3% of food values and thus causing economic losses to farmers. The mycotoxin contaminations of food supply chain impact on human and animal health primarily, whereas production is the second major concern especially in developing countries. Aflatoxins (colorless to pale yellow colored crystals) are the most studied (>5000 research articles) group of mycotoxins. AFs impose major problems regarding health, growth, FCR (feed conversion ratio), etc. in the subtropical zone. In the agricultural commodities, the prevention of fungal contamination during plant growth, harvesting and storage seems to be the most effective and rational precautionary measures to avoid mycotoxins. Activated charcoal; aluminosilicates; polymers, such as polyvinyl pyrrolidones and chole-styramine; and yeast, yeast-based products, and humic acid have been studied extensively with promising but variable results. A live yeast, named Saccharomyces cerevisiae ( S. cerevisiae ), has also been observed to lighten the adverse effects of aflatoxicosis in poultry. These beneficial effects were later attributed to glucomannan, being derived from the cell wall of S. cerevisiae .