INFLUENCE OF THE ANTIBIOTICS LINCOMYCIN AND TYLOSIN ON AFLATOXICOSIS WHEN ADDED TO AFLATOXIN-CONTAMINATED DIETS OF GROWING SWINE

Effects of dietary aflatoxin (AF) and the antibiotics lincomycin (L) a nd tylosin (T) were evaluated in growing crossbred pigs. Six barrows ( 3 replicates of 2 each, mean body weight 14.0 kg) per group were assig ned to 1 of 6 treatment groups (for a total of 36): 0 mg L, 0 mg T, an d 0 mg AF/kg of feed (control); 220 mg L/kg of feed (200 g/ton); 110 m g T/kg of feed (100 g/ton); 2.5 mg AF/kg of feed; 2.5 mg AF plus 220 m g L/kg of feed; 2.5 mg AF plus 110 mg T/kg of feed. Barrows were admin istered their respective diets for 28 days. Body weight, body weight g ain, and feed consumption were reduced by the AF alone, the AF plus L, and the AF plus T treatments, compared with control, L, and T treatme nts. Altered serum biochemical or hematologic measurements induced by AF treatments included increased serum activities of alkaline phosphat ase and gamma-glutamyltransferase, increased hematocrit, hemoglobin, R BC count, WBC count, and mean cell hemoglobin, decreased serum concent rations of albumin, cholesterol, inorganic phosphorus, unsaturated iro n binding capacity, total protein, and urea nitrogen, and decreased ly mphoblastogenic response. Liver weight was increased, and microscopic lesions were consistent with those observed in cases of aflatoxicosis. With some other minor exceptions for hematologic and immunologic vari ables, these data indicate that the feed antibiotics lincomycin and ty losin, when added to aflatoxin-contaminated diets, do not have benefic ial or detrimental effects on aflatoxicosis in growing swine.