Lack of Toxic Interaction between Fusariotoxins in Broiler Chickens Fed throughout Their Life at the Highest Level Tolerated in the European Union

Abstract

Fusarium mycotoxins (FUS) occur frequently in poultry diets, and regulatory limits are laid down in several countries. However, the limits were established for exposure to a single mycotoxin, whereas multiple contamination is more realistic, and different studies have demonstrated that it is not possible to predict interactions between mycotoxins. The purpose of this study was thus to compare the toxic effect of deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FB) and zearalenone (ZON), alone and in combination on broiler chickens, at the maximum tolerated level established by the EU for poultry feed. Experimental corn-soybean diets incorporated ground cultured toxigenic Fusarium strains. One feed was formulated for chickens 0 to 10 days old and another for chickens 11 to 35 days old. The control diets were mycotoxin free, the DON diets contained 5 mg DON/kg, the FB diet contained 20 mg FB1 + FB2/kg, and the ZON diet contained 0.5mg ZON/kg. The DONFBZON diet contained 5, 20, and 0.5 mg/kg of DON, FB1 + FB2, and ZON, respectively. Diets were distributed ad libitum to 70 broilers (male Ross PM3) separated into five groups of 14 chickens each reared in individual cages from one to 35 days of age. On day 35, after a starvation period of 8 h, a blood sample was collected, and all the animals were killed and autopsied. No difference between groups that could be attributed to FUS was observed in performances, the relative weight of organs, biochemistry, histopathology, intestinal morphometry, variables of oxidative damage, and markers of testicle toxicity. A significant increase in sphinganine and in the sphinganine to sphingosine ratio was observed in broilers fed FB. Taken together, these results suggest that the regulatory guidelines established for single contamination of broiler chickens fed with DON, FB, and ZON can also be used in the case of multiple contamination with these toxins.

Low Doses of Mycotoxin Mixtures below EU Regulatory Limits Can Negatively Affect the Performance of Broiler Chickens: A Longitudinal Study

“…However, under conditions of pathogenic challenge, both mycotoxins altered the response of chickens to coccidiosis [55]. Conversely, chicken fed partially purified fungal extract containing DON, ZEN and FBs alone or combined, at levels equal to the EU guidance limits, did not show any significant changes in terms of performance and organ damage, when compared with birds fed uncontaminated diets [56].…”

Zearalenone and Metabolites in Livers of Turkey Poults and Broiler Chickens Fed with Diets Containing Fusariotoxins

“…This study was done to compare different scenarios of exposure in two avian species to highlight between-protocol convergences and divergences. No effects on health and performance were observed whatever the diet fed [ 27 , 28 ]. Special attention was given to the measurement of α-ZOL and β-ZOL, which strongly vary in their toxicity [ 1 , 47 ].…”

“…All experiments with animals were approved on May 18, 2017 by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research and registered under number 02032.01. Tissue samples were obtained from turkeys and chickens reared in individual cages and fed ad libitum with different diets containing fusariotoxins as previously described [ 27 , 28 ]. Briefly, the diets containing mycotoxins were formulated on a corn/soybean basis by incorporation of ground cultured toxigenic Fusarium strains to reach a ZEN concentration of 0.5 mg/kg and concentrations of ZEN, DON, and FB1+FB2 of 0.5, 5, and 20 mg/kg, respectively.…”

“…Studies were performed in turkeys and broiler chickens to compare the metabolism of ZEN into α-ZOL and β-ZOL, which has been reported to vary across species [ 5 , 26 ]. Exposure was conducted at a low dose that did not demonstrate any signs of toxicity [ 27 , 28 ]. Because deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FB) often co-occur in feed with ZEN, different diets were compared in each species, one containing ZEN alone and another containing ZEN, DON, and FB.…”

Effects of Deoxynivalenol-Contaminated Diets on Productive, Morphological, and Physiological Indicators in Broiler Chickens

“…Representative feed samples for each group were analyzed for the content of dry matter, crude protein, gross energy, crude fiber, ether extract, crude ash, and sodium chloride [ 19 ] ( Table 1 ). For the trial, DON was produced by growing in vitro Fusarium graminearum strain I159 on wheat, in accordance to the protocol described by [ 20 ] (ENVT, Toulouse, France), and was mixed into the experimental feed. The powdered culture material was included to obtain 5 or 15 mg DON/kg feed.…”