Paloma Eduarda Lopes de Souza

This study evaluated the effects of supplementation with Toxfin™ Dry, a mineral adsorbent composed of bentonite and sepiolite, on productive performance, egg quality, intestinal morphometry, serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant status, and sphingolipid metabolism of laying hens challenged with T-2 toxin and fumonisin. A total of 480 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens at 25 weeks of age were distributed in a completely randomized design with six treatments and eight replicates of 10 birds each, over 112 days divided into four 28-day cycles. Treatments consisted of a control diet, either uncontaminated or contaminated with 2 mg/kg T-2 toxin and 60 mg/kg fumonisin B1, with or without 1 kg/ton Toxfin™ Dry. Mycotoxin challenge reduced egg production (p < 0.0001), egg weight (p < 0.0001), egg mass (p < 0.0001), feed intake (p < 0.0001), eggshell strength (p < 0.0001) and thickness (p < 0.0001), Haugh unit (p < 0.0001), and villus ratio (p < 0.0001), while increasing inflammatory and hepatic biomarkers, malondialdehyde levels, and the sphinganine ratio, with more pronounced effects under combined contamination. Supplementation with Toxfin™ Dry mitigated most adverse effects, with responses approaching those of the control group. The adsorbent reduces intestinal mycotoxin bioavailability and helps maintain performance and physiological homeostasis in laying hens.

Moderately fermentable dietary fiber (with different crude fiber [CF] levels), especially when combined with stimbiotic (STB) supplementation, can enhance intestinal health, nutrient utilization, and overall performance in laying hens, although effects depend on fiber type, level, and diet composition. To investigate this, 1200 Bovans White laying hens (32 weeks old) were assigned to a 2 × 6 factorial experiment with two levels of supplementation (without or with 0.01% STB) and six dietary fiber treatments: Control (commercial diet), Corn–soybean, 75:25 wheat–corn, 50:50 wheat–corn, 25:75 wheat–corn, and Corn–soybean. The study spanned five 28-day periods, evaluating productive performance, egg quality, and intestinal morphology. Dietary fiber levels significantly improved feed intake (p = 0.0029), egg production (p < 0.0001), egg mass (p < 0.0001), feed conversion (p < 0.0001), and intestinal structure (p ≤ 0.05), while STB alone had limited effects. Hens fed 75:25 and 50:50 wheat–corn diets consumed more feed, and the highest egg production and mass were observed in layers receiving Control, 75:25 wheat–corn, and Corn–soybean diets. Egg quality benefited from the fiber–STB interaction, producing heavier eggs with higher yolk pigmentation (p ≤ 0.05), thicker shells (p ≤ 0.05), and specific gravity (p ≤ 0.05). STB supplementation increased jejunal villus width (p = 0.0001) and absorptive area (p = 0.0063), whereas fiber type affected ileal villus width (p = 0.0025) and absorptive area (p = 0.0156). Fiber–STB interaction influences the duodenum villus width (p = 0.0106), crypt depth (p = 0.0011), villus-to-crypt ratio (p = 0.0058), and absorptive area (p = 0.0086), and ileum villus width (p = 0.0011), crypt depth (p = 0.0058), and absorptive area (p = 0.0086). In conclusion, the use of 0.01% STB in diets with high crude fiber levels (25:75 and 75:25 wheat–corn ratios) improves performance, egg quality, and intestinal health in laying hens.