As
aflatoxin causes malabsorption and its toxicity is enhanced by a
low protein diet, digestive
enzymes formed in the pancreas apparently are influenced by
aflatoxin. This hypothesis was investigated in a 2 X 2 factorial experiment. Six groups of 10 egg-type chickens per treatment were analyzed for the absence and presence of
aflatoxin (0 and 4 micrograms/g diet) and for normal (12.75%) and low (10.00%)
protein in soy-
dextrose diets. The specific activities of pancreatic
chymotrypsin,
amylase, and
lipase, but not
trypsin, were increased significantly (P less than .01) by
aflatoxin. Lowering
dietary protein had no effect by itself except to increase
amylase activity. Low
protein and
aflatoxin interacted to lessen but not prevent the effect of
aflatoxin on
chymotrypsin and
amylase. Calculation of total pancreatic activities revealed that
aflatoxin increased
trypsin,
chymotrypsin,
amylase, and
lipase to 107, 169, 113, and 119%, respectively, of control values on the
low protein diet, whereas values were 99, 175, 115, and 115%, respectively, on the normal
protein diet. Neither
aflatoxin nor low
protein altered significantly (P less than .05) the
lipid content of fecal material. Thus,
aflatoxicosis in egg-type chickens is characterized by a surplus of some digestive
enzymes and by normal fecal
lipids in contrast to the specific deficiency of
amylase and
lipase and
steatorrhea reported earlier in meat-type chickens. Whereas malabsorption caused by
aflatoxin in broilers can be accounted for in part by impaired digestion, this mechanism apparently does not occur in egg-type chickens.