Although the effects of aflatoxin on animal performance have been well established in previous studies, there are few studies reporting on the relationship between aflatoxin and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to minimize aflatoxicosis was evaluated. An aflatoxin-free diet and six contaminated diets (400 lg kg -1 aflatoxin) were formulated with five diets containing the viable yeast (Y1026 or Y904). A 28-day bioassay using 21-day-old and 60-g body weight Wistar rats was conducted. The results showed that there were no significant (P [ 0.05) differences for: food consumption; daily weight gain; food conversion, and enzyme activity. Hepatic tissues from the aflatoxin control group suffered from hepatotoxicity, cellular disorganization, and hepatocyte necrosis. The inclusion of yeast or yeast and amino acids (methionine and cysteine) reduced the toxicity.

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Aflatoxins are hepatotoxic metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus on a number of agricultural commodities. This research was carried out to evaluate the ability of thermolysed and active Saccharomyces cerevisiae to attenuate liver damage caused by aflatoxin. Diets were prepared containing 0 aflatoxin; 400 mug kg-1 aflatoxin; 400 mug kg-1 aflatoxin plus 1% of dehydrated active yeast, and 400 mug kg-1 aflatoxin plus 1% of thermolysed yeast. A bioassay with Wistar rats was conducted for 28 days, and body organs were weighted and analyses of the liver tissue of the animals were performed. The relative weight of heart, kidneys and liver from animals submitted to the different treatments did not show any difference, and liver tissue of animals feeding on the aflatoxin-free diet was adopted as a toxicity-free pattern. Hepatic tissue of animals feeding on diets containing 400 mug kg-1 aflatoxin or the diet supplemented with 1% thermolysed yeast showed clear signs of toxicity and damage. Hepatic tissue of animals feeding on the diet containing 1% of dehydrated active yeast showed less toxicity signs and damage than those receiving the diet containing 400 mug kg-1 aflatoxin. Active, dehydrated yeast had the ability to reduce toxic effects caused by aflatoxin, but thermolysed yeast was not able to alleviate the effects of aflatoxin toxicity.

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