LAUSR

&NA; Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is very harmful for broiler production and public health. The water‐soluble castoff in gluten production, i.e., the water‐soluble substances of wheat (WSW) that contains 14% pentosan has positive effect on animal nutrient absorption, immunity, and antioxidation. Our study aims to investigate the preventive effects of WSW against AFB1‐induced broiler liver injury. One day‐old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly separated to 4 groups and were, respectively, fed with control diet, diet with 5 mg/kg AFB1 standard, diet with 5 mg/kg AFB1 standard and 214 ml/kg WSW, and diet with 214 ml/kg WSW continuously for 28 d. The histopathological, ultra‐structural, and serological changes were tested to evaluate liver damage. The hallmarks of hepatocellular autophagy, apoptosis, and inflammation were measured by Western Blot and real‐time polymerase chain reaction. The content of AFB1 in chicken liver was detected with an ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography linked with the fluorescence detection method. The results showed that (i) WSW restored AFB1‐induced changes in serum biochemical parameters, and ameliorated histomorphological changes in hepatocytes, (ii) WSW reduced the content of AFB1 in chicken liver, (iii) WSW alleviated AFB1‐induced autophagy inhibition by up‐regulating hepatic LC3, beclin‐1, and down‐regulating hepatic mTOR and cytoplasmic P53 expressions, (iv) WSW alleviated AFB1‐induced hepatocellular apoptosis via inhibiting pro‐apoptotic gene expression (nuclear P53, Caspase3, Bax), and promoting anti‐apoptotic gene expression (bcl‐2), (v) WSW feeding ameliorated AFB1‐induced liver inflammation via impeding TLR4/NF‐κB and IL‐1/NF‐κB signaling pathways, down‐regulating pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐1&bgr;, IL‐6, and IL‐8), and markedly up‐regulating anti‐inflammatory genes (IL‐10 and HO‐1). Conclusively, WSW is a potential preventer of AFB1‐induced broiler liver damage by reducing the AFB1 content in liver, accelerating hepatocellular autophagy and inhibiting hepatocytes apoptosis and liver inflammation.