The Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Raw Materials and Fish Feeds in Europe and the Potential Effects of Deoxynivalenol (DON) on the Health and Growth of Farmed Fish Species-A Review

Co-contamination and interactions of multiple mycotoxins and heavy metals in rice, maize, soybeans, and wheat flour marketed in Shanghai City

Mycotoxins and heavy metals extensively contaminate grains and grain products, posing severe health risks. This work implements validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods to quantify the concentration of 12 mycotoxins and five heavy metals in rice, maize, soybeans, and wheat flour samples marketed in Shanghai. The mixed contamination characteristics were analyzed using correlation cluster analysis and co-contamination index, and the probabilities of all cross combinations of contaminations were analyzed using a self-designed JAVA language program. The results showed that grains and grain products were frequently contaminated with both mycotoxins and heavy metals, mostly with deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15-ADON), ochratoxin A (OTA), aflatoxins, fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), fumonisin B3 (FB3), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr) and cadmium (Cd). All the samples (100 %) were contaminated with two or more contaminants, and 77.3 % of the samples were co-contaminated with more than four contaminants. In cereals and cereal products, the following combinations were closely associated: (FB3 +3-ADON), (FB1 +As), (FB1 +FB2), (DON+FB1), (DON+Cd), (As+Cd), (DON+Cd+As), (FB1 +FB2 +As), and (DON+3-ADON+15-ADON). The results indicated that mycotoxins and heavy metals frequently co-occurred in Shanghai grains and grain products, and they provided primary data for safety assessments, early warnings, and regulatory measures on these contaminants to protect public health.

A novel core-shell up-conversion nanoparticles immunochromatographic assay for the detection of deoxynivalenol in cereals

Deoxynivalenol (DON) toxin is a type B group of trichothecene mycotoxins mainly originating from specific Fusarium fungi, seriously harming human and livestock health. Herein, a novel core-shell up-conversion nanoparticles immunochromatographic assay (CS-UCNPs-ICA) was developed for deoxynivalenol based on the competitive reaction principle. By exploiting the fluorescence intensity of the T and C lines of CS-UCNPs-ICA, the concentrations of DON were obtained sensitively and precisely under optimized conditions in 5 min with a detection limit of 0.1 ng/mL. The CS-UCNPs-ICA strips only specifically detect DON and its derivatives (3-Ac-DON and 15-Ac-DON), with no cross-reaction with other mycotoxins. The low CV values illustrated a modest intra- and inter-assay variation, confirming the superior precision of this method. In the spiked experiment, the mean recoveries of corn and wheat ranged from 94.74% to 100.90% and 96.21%-104.81%, respectively. Furthermore, the approach generated results that were in good agreement with data from HPLC and ELISA analyses of naturally contaminated feed and cereals, confirming that the significant advantages of proposed strips were their high practicality, rapidness, and simplicity. Therefore, the CS-UCNPs-ICA strips platform serves as a promising candidate for developing new approaches for rapid testing or high throughput screening from DON in food products.

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Yeast Cell Wall Extract Supple-Mentation during Mycotoxin Challenges on the Performance of Laying Hens

A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of mycotoxins (MT) without or with the inclusion of yeast cell wall extract (YCWE, Mycosorb®, Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY, USA) on laying hen performance. A total of 25 trials were collected from a literature search, and data were extracted from 8 of these that met inclusion criteria, for a total of 12 treatments and 1774 birds. Laying hens fed MT had lower (p < 0.05) body weight (BW) by -50 g, egg production by -6.3 percentage points, and egg weight by -1.95 g than control fed hens (CTRL). Inclusion of YCWE during the mycotoxin challenges (YCWE + MT) resulted in numerically greater (p = 0.441) BW by 12.5 g, while egg production and egg weight were significantly (p < 0.0001) higher by 4.2 percentage points and 1.37 g, respectively. Furthermore, economic assessment calculations indicated that YCWE may not only support hen performance but also resulted in a positive return on investment. In conclusion, mycotoxins can play a role in negatively impacting laying hen performance and profitability. Inclusion of YCWE in feed with mycotoxin challenges provided benefits to egg production and egg weight and may support profitability. As such, the inclusion of YCWE could play an important role in minimizing mycotoxin effects and in turn aid farm efficiency and profitability.

Individual and combined effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) with other Fusarium mycotoxins on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) growth performance and health

This study assessed whether the toxicological effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) produced by Fusarium graminearum in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are altered by the co-exposure to a mixture of toxins produced by Fusarium verticillioides (FUmix). This FUmix contained fusaric acid and fumonisin B1, B2 and B3. Four diets were formulated according to a 2 × 2 factorial design: CON-CON; CON-FUmix; DON-CON; and DON-FUmix. Diets with and without DON contained on average 2700 and 0 µg/kg feed, respectively. The sum of the analysed FUmix toxins was 12,700 and 100 µg/kg feed in the diets with and without FUmix, respectively. The experiment consisted of a 6-week restrictive feeding period immediately followed by a 2-week ad libitum feeding period. Growth performance measurements were taken per feeding period. Histopathological measurements in the liver and gastrointestinal tract (pyloric caeca, midgut and hindgut) were assessed at the end of week 1 and week 6 of the restrictive feeding period and at week 8, the last day of the ad libitum feeding period. During both restrictive and ad libitum feeding, the effects of FUmix and DON on growth performance were additive (no interaction effect; p > 0.05). During the restrictive feeding period, exposure to DON (p ≤ 0.001) and FUmix (p ≤ 0.01) inhibited growth and increased feed conversion ratio (FCR). During this period, DON exposure decreased the protein (p ≤ 0.001) and energy retention (p ≤ 0.05) in the trout. During the ad libitum feeding period, FUmix affected HSI (p ≤ 0.01), while DON exposure reduced feed intake (p ≤ 0.001) and growth (p ≤ 0.001) and increased FCR (p ≤ 0.01). In general, for both liver and intestinal tissue measurements, no interaction effects between DON and FUmix were observed. In the liver, histopathological analysis revealed mild alterations, increased necrosis score by DON (p ≤ 0.01), increased glycogen vacuolization by FUmix (p ≤ 0.05) and decreased percentage of pleomorphic nuclei by FUmix (p ≤ 0.01). DON had a minor impact on the intestinal histological measurements. Over time, some of the liver (glycogen vacuolization score, pleomorphic nuclei; p ≤ 0.01) and intestinal measurements (mucosal fold and enterocyte width; p ≤ 0.01) were aggravated in fish fed the FUmix contaminated diets, with the most severe alterations being noted at week 8. Overall, the co-exposure to FUmix and DON gave rise to additive effects but showed no synergistic or antagonistic effects for the combination of DON with other Fusarium mycotoxins.

Transcriptome Analysis of Deoxynivalenol (DON)-Induced Hepatic and Intestinal Toxicity in Zebrafish: Insights into Gene Expression and Potential Detoxification Pathways

The effects of deoxynivalenol (DON, 50 µg/mL) on the zebrafish liver and intestine were studied. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from mRNA and lncRNA were analyzed by RNA seq. Gene Ontology (GO) and signaling pathways were studied where the top 30 DEGs of each type of RNA were involved. The results showed there were 2325 up-regulated and 934 down-regulated DEGs of lncRNA in the intestinal tract, and 95 up-regulated genes and 211 down-regulated genes in the liver, respectively. GO functional annotation analysis showed that lncRNA was enriched in the biological processes, involving the RNA splicing, CSF1-CSF1R complexes, and MAP kinase activity. DEGs of lncRNA located in the KEGG signal pathways include the C-type lectin receptor signaling and the NOD-like receptor signaling pathways. Metabolism involves the biosynthesis of indole alkaloids, cancer pathways for human disease, MAPK and Rap1signaling pathways for environmental information processing, necroptosis and focal adhesion for cell processes. The mRNA gene expression analysis showed there were 1939 up-regulated, 1172 down-regulated genes and 866 up-regulated, 1211 down-regulated genes in the intestine and liver of zebrafish, respectively. This study provides transcriptome analysis and toxicological investigation of DON in the zebrafish liver and intestine, offering insights into gene expression patterns and potential detoxification pathways.

Climate Change-A Global Threat Resulting in Increasing Mycotoxin Occurrence

During the last decade, scientists have given increasingly frequent warnings about global warming, linking it to mycotoxin-producing moulds in various geographical regions across the world. In the future, more pronounced climate change could alter host resilience and host-pathogen interaction and have a significant impact on the development of toxicogenic moulds and the production of their secondary metabolites, known as mycotoxins. The current climate attracts attention and calls for novel diagnostic tools and notions about the biological features of agricultural cultivars and toxicogenic moulds. Since European climate environments offer steadily rising opportunities for Aspergillus flavus growth, an increased risk of cereal contamination with highly toxic aflatoxins shall be witnessed in the future. On top of that, the profile (representation) of certain mycotoxigenic Fusarium species is changing ever more substantially, while the rise in frequency of Fusarium graminearum contamination, as a species which is able to produce several toxic mycotoxins, seen in northern and central Europe, is becoming a major concern. In the following paper, a high-quality approach to a preventative strategy is tailored to put a stop to the toxicogenic mould- and mycotoxin-induced contamination of foods and feeds in the foreseeable future.

Recent Advances in Mycotoxin Determination in Fish Feed Ingredients

Low-cost plant-based sources used in aquaculture diets are prone to the occurrence of animal feed contaminants, which may in certain conditions affect the quality and safety of aquafeeds. Mycotoxins, a toxic group of small organic molecules produced by fungi, comprise a frequently occurring plant-based feed contaminant in aquafeeds. Mycotoxin contamination can potentially cause significant mortality, reduced productivity, and higher disease susceptibility; thus, its timely detection is crucial to the aquaculture industry. The present review summarizes the methodological advances, developed mainly during the past decade, related to mycotoxin detection in aquafeed ingredients, namely analytical, chromatographic, and immunological methodologies, as well as the use of biosensors and spectroscopic methods which are becoming more prevalent. Rapid and accurate mycotoxin detection is and will continue to be crucial to the food industry, animal production, and the environment, resulting in further improvements and developments in mycotoxin detection techniques.

Time- and Dose-Dependent Effects of Dietary Deoxynivalenol (DON) in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at Organism and Tissue Level

This study with juvenile rainbow trout evaluated the effects of dietary exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON) at industrially relevant doses (up to 1.6 mg/kg) on growth performance, the liver, and the gastrointestinal tract. Fifteen groups of 30 fish each were given one of five dietary treatments in triplicate: (1) control diet (CON; DON < 100 µg/kg feed), (2) naturally DON-contaminated diet (ND1) with a DON content of 700 µg/kg in the feed, (3) ND2 with a DON content of 1200 µg/kg feed, (4) a pure DON-contaminated diet (PD1) with 800 µg/kg of DON in the feed, and (5) PD2 with DON at a concentration of 1600 µg/kg in the feed. The feeding trial lasted eight weeks: six weeks of restrictive feeding followed by two weeks of ad libitum feeding. Exposure to DON during restrictive feeding for six weeks did not affect the growth performance of trout but did lead to a reduction in retained protein in fish fed with higher doses of DON in the ND2 and PD2 groups. During the two following weeks of ad libitum feeding, feed intake was similar among all groups, but body weight gain was lower in the ND2 and PD2 groups and feed efficiency was higher in PD2 (week 8). Histopathological assessment revealed liver damage, including altered nuclear characteristics and haemorrhages, in groups fed higher doses of natural DON (ND2) after just one week of restrictive feeding. Liver damage (necrosis and haemorrhage presence in ND2) was alleviated over time (week 6) but was again aggravated after ad libitum exposure (week 8). In contrast, gastrointestinal tract damage was generally mild with only a few histopathological alterations, and the absence of an inflammatory cytokine response was demonstrated by PCR at week 8. In conclusion, ad libitum dietary exposure of rainbow trout to either natural or pure DON resulted in reduced growth (dose-dependent), while restrictive exposure revealed time-dependent effects of natural DON in terms of liver damage.

Toxicokinetics and metabolism of deoxynivalenol in animals and humans

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most widespread mycotoxin in food and feedstuffs, posing a persistent health threat to humans and farm animals. The susceptibilities of DON vary significantly among animals, following the order of pigs, mice/rats and poultry from the most to least susceptible. However, no study comprehensively disentangles factors shaping species-specific sensitivity. In this review, the toxicokinetics and metabolism of DON are summarized in animals and humans. Generally, DON is fast-absorbed and widely distributed in multiple organs. DON is first enriched in the plasma, liver and kidney and subsequently accumulates in the intestine. There are also key variations among animals. Pigs and humans are highly sensitive to DON, and they have similar absorption rates (1 h < t_max < 4 h), high bioavailability (> 55%) and long clearance time (2 h < t_1/2 < 4 h). Also, both species lack detoxification microorganisms and mainly depend on liver glucuronidation and urine excretion. Mice and rats have similar toxicokinetics (t_max < 0.5 h, t_1/2 < 1 h). However, a higher proportion of DON is excreted by feces as DOM-1 in rats than in mice, suggesting an important role of gut microbiota in rats. Poultry is least sensitive to DON due to their fast absorption rate (t_max < 1 h), low oral bioavailability (5-30%), broadly available detoxification gut microorganisms and short clearance time (t_1/2 < 1 h). Aquatic animals have significantly slower plasma clearance of DON than land animals. Overall, studies on toxicokinetics provide valuable information for risk assessment, prevention and control of DON contamination.

Meta-analysis of the effects of mycotoxins and yeast cell wall extract supplementation on the performance, livability, and environmental sustainability of broiler production

The effect of mycotoxins (MT) on broiler performance without or with the inclusion of yeast cell wall extract (YCWE, Mycosorb, Alltech, Inc., KY) was evaluated in a random-effects meta-analysis. Data was extracted from 25 research experiments with a total of 10,307 broilers. Broilers fed MT had lower (P < 0.001) body weight gain (BWG, −217 g), reduced feed intake (FI, −264 g), increased feed conversion ratio (FCR, 0.12), and greater mortality by 2.01%. Inclusion of YCWE improved (P < 0.001) BWG (59 g) and FI (65 g), lowered FCR (−0.05), and reduced mortality by 1.74%. Additionally, change in European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) was assessed. Feeding MT lowered (P < 0.001) EPEF while YCWE increased (P < 0.001) EPEF. Finally, the carbon footprint of production was evaluated. Control fed birds produced an estimated 1.93 kg CO2-equivalent/kg liveweight (LW), while MT fed broilers produced 2.13 kg CO2-equivalent/kg LW and YCWE inclusion lowered this to 2.03 kg CO2-equivalent/kg LW which resulted in −25 tonnes less CO2-equivalent output per 100,000 birds with YCWE. In conclusion, mycotoxins can play a role in reducing broiler performance and farm production output, as well as increase the carbon footprint. Inclusion of YCWE in feed under a mycotoxin challenge can improve broiler performance and output, as well as lower carbon footprint, which could play a role in farm efficiency, profitability, and environmental sustainability.

Mixed Contaminants: Occurrence, Interactions, Toxicity, Detection, and Remediation

The ever-increasing rate of pollution has attracted considerable interest in research. Several anthropogenic activities have diminished soil, air, and water quality and have led to complex chemical pollutants. This review aims to provide a clear idea about the latest and most prevalent pollutants such as heavy metals, PAHs, pesticides, hydrocarbons, and pharmaceuticals—their occurrence in various complex mixtures and how several environmental factors influence their interaction. The mechanism adopted by these contaminants to form the complex mixtures leading to the rise of a new class of contaminants, and thus resulting in severe threats to human health and the environment, has also been exhibited. Additionally, this review provides an in-depth idea of various in vivo, in vitro, and trending biomarkers used for risk assessment and identifies the occurrence of mixed contaminants even at very minute concentrations. Much importance has been given to remediation technologies to understand our current position in handling these contaminants and how the technologies can be improved. This paper aims to create awareness among readers about the most ubiquitous contaminants and how simple ways can be adopted to tackle the same.

The Reduction of the Combined Effects of Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A in Piglet Livers and Kidneys by Dietary Antioxidants

The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined effects of aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A on protein expression and catalytic activities of CYP1A2, CYP2E1, CYP3A29 and GSTA1 and the preventive effect of dietary byproduct antioxidants administration against these mycotoxin damage. Three experimental groups (E1, E2, E3) and one control group (C) of piglets after weaning (TOPIGS-40 hybrid) were fed with experimental diets for 30 days. A basal diet containing normal compound feed for starter piglets was used as a control treatment and free of mycotoxin. The experimental groups were fed as follows: E1—basal diet plus a mixture (1:1) of two byproducts (grapeseed and sea buckthorn meal), E2—the basal diet experimentally contaminated with mycotoxins (479 ppb OTA and 62ppb AFB1) and E3—basal diet containing 5% of the mixture (1:1) of grapeseed and sea buckthorn meal and contaminated with the mix of OTA and AFB1. After 4 weeks, the animals were slaughtered, and tissue samples were taken from liver and kidney in order to perform microsomal fraction isolation, followed by protein expression and enzymatic analyses. The protein expressions of CYP2E1 and CYP3A29 were up-regulated in an insignificant manner in liver, whereas in kidney, those of CYP1A2, CYP2E1 and CYP3A29 were down-regulated. The enzymatic activities of CYP1A2, CYP2E1 and CYP3A29 decreased in liver, in a significant manner, whereas in kidney, these increased significantly. The co-presence of the two mycotoxins and the mixture of grape seed and sea buckthorn meal generated a tendency to return to the control values, which suggest that grapeseed and sea buckthorn meal waste represent a promising source in counteracting the harmful effect of ochratoxin A and aflatoxin B.