1. Toxicity of Fusarium mycotoxins and detoxification by mycotoxin degrading enzymes.
- Author
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Schatzmayr, G., Hofstetter, U., and Yeong-Hsiang, C.
- Subjects
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FUSARIUM toxins , *MYCOTOXINS , *ALVEOLAR macrophages , *ANIMAL feeding behavior , *ASPARTATE aminotransferase , *CHEMOTAXIS - Abstract
Deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) are the most frequently occurring mycotoxins in the United States (US), Canada and Central Europe. They are produced by Fusarium species on a great variety of commodities. Amongst all animal species pigs are most affected by the uptake of these fungal toxins. The aim of this study was to test the synergistic effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) on performance parameters, blood biochemistry and immune parameters of pigs. Further the effect of Mycofix®Plus (MP), a product based on mycotoxin degrading enzymes, was investigated in this experiment. A total of 48 weaning pigs were allocated to four treatments including control, toxin (DON and ZON), toxin + MP (DON, ZON, and MP), and MP alone for a 6 wk challenge trial. The concentration of DON (1mg/kg) and ZON (0.25mg/kg) were below the recommended tolerance levels for swine diets in the US. After 6-wk the growth performance parameters of the toxin group (BW = 26.2kg; ADG = 412g) were significantly (P≤0.05) affected by DON and ZON (control group; BW = 29.08kg; ADG = 495g). The addition of MP (0.15%) neutralized the negative impact of the mycotoxins on BW (29.1kg) and ADG (476g). The addition of MP alone did not show any improvement in comparison to the control group. Besides performance parameters also serum biochemistry parameters, alveolar macrophages activity, antibody titers for pseudorabies (PR) vaccine and cytokines secretion profile were significantly impaired (P≤0.05) by the combination of DON and ZON. The addition of MP counteracted the detrimental effect on aspartate aminotransferase and alleviated the negative influence of the mycotoxins on chemotaxis and phagocytosis. Some improvement (not significantly different) of the PR vaccination response was also noted when MP was added to the toxin containing diet. This study showed that mycotoxin concentrations below the recommended tolerance levels in the United States and Canada occurring together in animal diets can lead to significant economic losses and the addition of MP is useful in alleviating toxic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006