Effect of Thistle seeds on hepatic gene expression of interleukin 6 (IL-6) in broiler chickens fed with Aflatoxin B1

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of milk thistle seeds (MTS) to ameliorate gene expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the livers of broiler chicks fed with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). 96 one-day-old (Ross 308) broiler chicks were used. They were randomly assigned to four treatments, 4 replicates and 6 birds in each unit. Group (1) was kept as a control and other groups received feed containing MTS and AFB1 for 3 weeks, i.e. 2) basal diet supplemented with 500 ppb of AFB1 per kg of feed, 3) basal diet supplemented with MTS (0.5%) and 4) basal diet supplemented with MTS (0.5%) and 500 ppb of AFB1 per kg of feed. On day 35 livers were collected (3 per treatment) to evaluate changes in the expression of IL-6 gene after reverse transcription of RNA extracted from liver tissue were taken. In addition, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was performed for IL-6. The result revealed expression of IL-6 decreased in treatments which is received AF while MTS alone increased IL-6 expression. The variables that were evaluated in this study showed that MTS had significant efficacy in diminishing the aflatoxin negative effects on the chickens.