Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium fungi that is commonly found in cereal crops. ZEA has an estrogen-like effect which affects the reproductive function of animals. It also damages the liver and kidneys and reduces immune function which leads to cytotoxicity and immunotoxicity. At present, the detoxification of mycotoxins is mainly accomplished using biological methods. Microbial-based methods involve zearalenone conversion or adsorption, but not all transformation products are nontoxic. In this paper, the non-pathogenic microorganisms which have been found to detoxify ZEA in recent years are summarized. Then, two mechanisms by which ZEA can be detoxified (adsorption and biotransformation) are discussed in more detail. The compounds produced by the subsequent degradation of ZEA and the heterogeneous expression of ZEA-degrading enzymes are also analyzed. The development trends in the use of probiotics as a ZEA detoxification strategy are also evaluated. The overall purpose of this paper is to provide a reliable reference strategy for the biological detoxification of ZEA.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is an estrogen-like mycotoxin occurring in food and feeds, and it can cause oxidative damage and apoptosis in the testis, liver, and kidney. A current concern for researchers is how to reduce the harm it causes to humans and animals. In this study, our aim was to isolate and identify a novel and efficient ZEN-detoxifying strain of bacteria, and we aimed to assess the protective effect of the isolated strain on kidney damage caused by ZEN in mice. Our results indicated that a strain of Bacillus velezensis (B. velezensis), named A2, could completely degrade ZEN (7.45 μg/mL) after three days of incubation at 37 °C in the Luria-Bertani (LB) medium. This fermentation broth of the B. velezensis A2 strain was given to mice. The histopathological analysis indicated that the fermentation broth from the B. velezensis A2 strain reduced the degree of renal injury that is induced by ZEN. Furthermore, it greatly reduced the increase in serum levels of creatinine (CRE), uric acid (UA), and urea nitrogen (BUN) caused by ZEN. In addition, B. velezensis A2 strain also significantly inhibited the increase of malonaldehyde (MDA) content, and reversed the decreases of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities caused by ZEN. Studies have shown that ZEN is involved in the regulation of mRNA and protein levels of genes involved in the ER stress-induced apoptotic pathway, such as heavy chain binding protein (BIP), C-/-EBP homologous protein (CHOP), cysteine Aspartate-specific protease-12 (Caspase-12), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and BCL2-related X protein (Bcl-2 and Bax). However, when mice were administered the fermentation broth of the B. velezensis A2 strain, it significantly reversed the expressions of these genes in their kidney tissue. In conclusion, our results indicate that the newly identified strain of B. velezensis A2, has a protective effect from renal injury induced by ZEN in mice. This strain has a potential application in the detoxification of ZEN in feed and protects animals from ZEN poisoning.

This study evaluated the protective effect of proanthocyanidins (PCs) on reducing apoptosis in the mouse intestinal epithelial cell model MODE-K exposed to zearalenone (ZEA) through inhibition of the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-induced apoptosis pathway. Our results showed that PCs could reduce the rate of apoptosis in MODE-K cells exposed to ZEA (p < 0.01). PCs significantly increased the ZEA-induced antioxidant protective effects on the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and on the content of GSH. PCs also significantly decreased the ZEA-induced increase in the content of malondialdehyde (MDA). The analysis indicated that ZEA increased both mRNA and protein expression levels of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), GRP78, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 12 (caspase-12) (p < 0.05), which are related to the ERS-induced apoptosis pathway. ZEA decreased levels of the pro-apoptotic related protein Bcl-2 (p < 0.05) and increased the anti-apoptotic related protein Bax (p < 0.05). Co-treatment with PCs was also shown to significantly reverse the expression levels of these proteins in MODE-K cells. The results demonstrated that PCs could protect MODE-K cells from oxidative stress and apoptosis induced by ZEA. The underlying mechanism may be that PCs can alleviate apoptosis in mouse intestinal epithelial cells by inhibition of the ERS-induced apoptosis pathway.

The study was conducted to investigate whether combined use of C. butyricum Sx-01 and L. salivarius C-1-3 could improve the intestinal health and reduce the lipid levels in sera of mice and whether these benefits were related to regulating the intestinal microflora. Eighty Kunming male mice were divided into four groups with five replicates per group and four mice per replicate. Mice in the control group were administrated with 0.2 mL normal saline; mice in three experimental groups were daily orally administrated with 4 × 108 cfu of L. salivarius, 4 × 108 cfu of C. butyricum, and a combination thereof (2 × 108 cfu of L. salivarius, and 2 × 108 cfu of C. butyricum), respectively. The experiment lasted for 14 days. The results showed that the average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed/gain (F/G) ratio of growing mice underwent no significant changes (p > 0.05); however, the average daily gain (ADG) tended to increase over short periods of time. The activities of SOD and GSH-Px in serum in the combination group were significantly increased (p < 0.05); The triglyceride, and total cholesterol, contents in serum in the combined treatment group were significantly decreased (p < 0.05); The total volatile fatty acids and butyric acid in faecal matter of mice in the experimental groups were all significantly increased at 14 days (p < 0.05); The length of villi, and the mucosal thickness of colon and caecum (p < 0.05) were significantly improved; The relative abundance of some bacteria with antioxidant capacity or decomposing cholesterol capacity or butyrate producing capacity was increased, while the relative abundance of some pathogenic bacteria was decreased in the colon. Furthermore, our results showed that the beneficial effects of the combined use of the two strains was higher than that of single use. Overall, the results demonstrated that the combined use of C. butyricum Sx-01 and L. salivarius C-1-3 can significantly improve intestinal health and reduce the amount of lipids in sera of mice. The reason for these effects might be that besides their own probiotic effects, combined use of the two strains could regulate the intestinal microflora.

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