| ABSTRACT The present study was carried out to study the effect of in-ovo ochratoxin A (OTA) injection in Highline layer eggs on calcium metabolism and blood biochemical parameters of embryos and after the hatch. At day 10 of embryonic development, one hundred and sixty-two fertile eggs were individually weighed and divided into two equal treatments. The first treatment (control) consisted of the individual injection of fertile eggs with 50 µL sodium carbonate. In the second treatment (OTA), fertile eggs were individually injected with 12.5 ng OTA dissolved in 50 µL sodium carbonate. On days 12, 14, and 16 of incubation and at the hatch, serum calcium and inorganic phosphorus concentrations were lower (p<0.05), while sodium, alkaline phosphatase and... |
