Study of toxic interaction between fumonisin-B1 and ochratoxin-A for certain serum biochemical parameters in Japanese quail.

A total of 300 one day old quail chicks (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were divided into 4 groups (3 replicates per teatment), viz. control (CX), fumonisin B1 (FX), ochratoxin A (OX) and combination (FO) containing 75 birds in each group. Birds in the control group (CX) were fed quail mash alone, where as birds in group FX were fed 200 ppm of fumonisin B1 (FB1) from Fusarium verticillioides culture material; group OX was fed 2 ppm of ochratoxin A from Aspergillus ochraceous NRRL-3174; and group FO was fed a combination of 200 ppm of FB1 and 2 ppm of OTA. Diets were fed from day 1 to 28 to study serum biochemistry. Birds in general showed anorexia, dullness, diarrhoea, depression in body weight, poor feathering and incoordinated movements. Significantly increased serum creatinine and uric acid values were observed in our study.