Evaluation of a short-term ingestion of zearalenone, fumonisin, and aflatoxin mixture incorporated, at low concentration, into the diet of weanling piglets and the effect of an anti-mycotoxin feed additive

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the toxic effects of short-term ingestion of a zearalenone, fumonisin, and aflatoxin mixture, at low concentration, into the diet of weanling piglets and to assess the protective efficacy of an anti-mycotoxin feed additive. For 21 days, piglets were exposed to control or multi-mycotoxin treatment with or without the anti-mycotoxin additive. Growth performance was measured after 21d. Blood samples were taken to serum biochemical analysis and for quantify levels of circulating mononuclear immune cells. Effects on organs weights and histological changes, and expression levels of COX-2 and TNF-α in the liver and jejunum were evaluated. Overall, the multimycotoxin treatment had no effect on measured variables, and no adverse histopathological changes in organs were observed. The total serum protein concentration was higher in animals that received the multi-mycotoxin treatment; however, levels remained within normal limits for weanling piglets. In conclusion, the short-term multi-mycotoxin mixture, at the dose levels evaluated in this study, seems not affect the health of weanling piglets through the evaluated parameters. The absence of toxicity associated with the multi-mycotoxin treatment rendered it impossible to evaluate the efficacy of the anti-mycotoxin additive. Key words: Anti-mycotoxin additives. Gut health. Immunology. Multi-contamination. Mycotoxin. Piglets. ResumoUm experimento foi conduzido para avaliar os efeitos tóxicos da ingestão simultânea de baixos níveis de zearalenona, fumonisina e aflatoxinas em uma dieta para leitões recém desmamados e avaliar a eficácia de um aditivo antimicotoxinas. Durante 21 dias, os leitões foram expostos aos tratamentos controle ou multicontaminado com ou sem a inclusão do aditivo antimicotoxina. O desempenho dos animais foi avaliado após 21d. Foram coletadas amostras de sangue para análise bioquímica sérica e para quantificar os níveis de células imunes mononucleares circulantes. Foram avaliados os pesos e alterações histológicas dos órgãos e a expressão de COX-2 e TNF-α no fígado e no jejuno. Em geral, o tratamento com micotoxinas não teve efeito sobre as variáveis analisadas e não foram observadas alterações histopatológicas adversas nos órgãos. A concentração de proteína sérica total foi maior para os animais que receberam o tratamento com multimicotoxinas; no entanto, os níveis permaneceram dentro dos limites normais para leitões desmamados. A dieta multicontaminada com micotoxinas, na dose avaliada neste estudo, parece não afetar a saúde de leitões recém desmamados através dos parâmetros avaliados. A ausência de toxicidade associada ao tratamento com micotoxinas tornou impossível avaliar a eficácia do aditivo antimicotoxina. Palavras-chave: Aditivo antimicotoxinas. Saúde intestinal. Imunologia. Multicontaminação. Leitões.

Effects of Mycotoxin-Sequestering Agents on Growth Performance and Nutrient Utilization of Growing Pigs Fed Deoxynivalenol-Contaminated Diets

“…The lack of any effects of the supplemental mycotoxin-sequestering agents on the ADG and ADFI of pigs is consistent with previous studies that used clays [11,17,23,24], yeast products [22,24], and mixed products [24,29]. Frobose et al [17] supplemented 0.5% montmorillonite clay product to diets contaminated with 6.4 mg/kg of DON but observed no alleviating effects on the depressed growth performance of nursery pigs caused by DON (Table 4).…”

“…Similarly, a mixed product containing antioxidants, amino acids, microorganisms, and preservatives improved weight gain by 12% and G:F by 9% in nursery pigs compared with pigs fed diets contaminated with 4.0 mg/kg of DON with no feed additives in Barnes et al [33]. However, the improvements in growth performance with the supplemental mixed products were not observed in other experiments [1,6,29,[33][34][35]. This inconsistency might be due to differences in experimental conditions; the types of sources contaminated by DON, such as wheat, corn, and corn distillers' dried grains with solubles as used in the literature; and the growth stages of pigs challenged by DON.…”

“…Enzymes, microorganisms, and preservatives such as plant extracts and antioxidants were reported to mitigate the negative effects of mycotoxins through bio-transforming and degrading mycotoxins [6,28]. Because the efficacy of mixture of these materials was unclear [24,29], more information on the DON-alleviating effects of the mixture containing enzymes, microorganisms, and plant extracts is needed. In the present study, therefore, three products of mycotoxin-sequestering agents, namely BEN, YCW, and MIX, were tested.…”

“…The mixed product used in the present study contains the live bacterium, Eubacterium BBSH797, which has the ability to convert DON into a non-toxic metabolite and, consequently, may improve the immune system in pigs [28]. In addition, the plant extracts contained in the mixed product may also improve immune response and cell turnover and alleviate the oxidative stress caused by mycotoxins [29]. Rather than a single product, it appears that mixed products containing a variety of detoxifying agents as well as adsorbents including clay and yeast products are relatively effective in mitigating the negative effects of DON.…”