Abstract
Rice powder, on which Aspergillus flavus was cultivated, was fed to laying Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) and one-day-old male White Leghorn chicks as the preliminary experiment to compare the effect of aflatoxin on chicks and quails.
Although the number of the chicks was only 20 in total, it was apparent that the feed intake for 7 weeks was in inverse proportion to the dietary level of rice powder. The decrcase of feed intake reflected on slow growth rate. However, contrary to the expectation, neither the enlargement of the liver, pancrease and spleen nor the regression of the bursa of Fabricius was observed. Cultivation of A. flavus lowered metabolizable energy of rice by about 10%.
Average egg production of 21 quails for 14 days was in inverse proportion to the dietary level of rice powder, suggesting that egg production of quail is a good criterion to estimate the biological activity of aflatoxin. Between the quails on the control and those on the diet containing 40% of rice powder, little difference was observed in weight of the liver, pancreas and spleen.
