Deoxynivalenol (DON) Contamination of Feed and Grinding Fineness: Are There Interactive Implications on Stomach Integrity and Health of Piglets?

Effect of deoxynivalenol on inflammatory injury on the glandular stomach in chick embryos

Deoxynivalenol (DON) has a strong toxic effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa of poultry. In this study, we evaluated chicken embryo development and glandular stomach damage to clarify the immunotoxic effects of DON injected through the allantoic cavity of chicken embryos. The glandular stomach index, routine blood indices, plasma inflammatory factors, pathological changes in the glandular stomach, and transcriptome results were analyzed in the hatching chicks. The results showed that DON was supertoxic to chicken embryos, causing edema, shedding, and bleeding of the mucosa of the glandular stomach, which triggered inflammatory reactions. As the toxin concentration increased, the immune system was successively activated and inhibited, and regulation was carried out by the differential regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathway. These results suggested that the immunotoxic effect of DON on the glandular stomach of chicken embryos was closely related to the regulation of the MAPK signaling pathway.

Effect of long-term feeding of graded levels of deoxynivalenol on performance, nutrient utilization, and organ health of grower-finisher pigs (35 to 120 kg)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term feeding of graded levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) on performance, nutrient utilization, and organ health of grower-finisher pigs. A total of 240 mixed-sex grower-finisher pigs (35.9 ± 1.1 kg initial body weight, BW) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (6 pigs/pen; 10 pens/treatment) for 77 d. Diets consisted of a control diet without DON (CONT) and diets containing 1, 3, or 5 ppm DON (DON1, DON3, or DON5). Nitrogen-balance was determined in 1 pig/pen during weeks 6 and 12 of the study. Growth performance measures were taken weekly for average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), and gain:feed (GF) until day 77. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 14, 42, 56, and 84 from 1 pig/pen for analysis of indicators of liver and kidney function. On day 7, ADG and ADFI for pigs fed DON3 and DON5 diets were lower (P < 0.05) compared with DON1- and CONT-fed pigs. Overall, ADG and ADFI (days 0 to 77) were lower in DON3- and DON5-fed pigs compared with CONT and DON1 pigs (P < 0.05), with no difference in GF (P > 0.05). Final BW was reduced in DON3- and DON5-fed pigs (P < 0.05) compared with CONT and DON1, which were not different (P > 0.05). No significant (P > 0.05) treatment effects were observed on carcass characteristics. In the grower-phase, protein deposition (PD) was reduced in DON3 and DON5 pigs compared with CONT and DON1 pigs (P < 0.05). In the finisher phase, PD was not affected by dietary treatment (P > 0.05). There was no effect of dietary treatment on the majority of selected serum chemistry (P > 0.05). In summary, pigs exposed to diets containing > 1 ppm DON had reduced growth performance with little or no effect on nitrogen utilization, organ health, or carcass characteristics, suggesting that the negative effects of DON may be largely due to depressed feed intake.

Mycotoxin Occurrence, Toxicity, and Detoxifying Agents in Pig Production with an Emphasis on Deoxynivalenol

This review aimed to investigate the occurrence of mycotoxins, their toxic effects, and the detoxifying agents discussed in scientific publications that are related to pig production. Mycotoxins that are of major interest are aflatoxins and Fusarium toxins, such as deoxynivalenol and fumonisins, because of their elevated frequency at a global scale and high occurrence in corn, which is the main feedstuff in pig diets. The toxic effects of aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, and fumonisins include immune modulation, disruption of intestinal barrier function, and cytotoxicity leading to cell death, which all result in impaired pig performance. Feed additives, such as mycotoxin-detoxifying agents, that are currently available often combine organic and inorganic sources to enhance their adsorbability, immune stimulation, or ability to render mycotoxins less toxic. In summary, mycotoxins present challenges to pig production globally because of their increasing occurrences in recent years and their toxic effects impairing the health and growth of pigs. Effective mycotoxin-detoxifying agents must be used to boost pig health and performance and to improve the sustainable use of crops.

Effect of long-term feeding of graded levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) on growth performance, nutrient utilization, and organ health in finishing pigs and DON content in biological samples

The prevalence of deoxynivalenol (DON) is a concern for swine producers, and although there has been extensive research into the effects of DON in pigs, focus has been in young pigs and/or in short-term studies. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of long-term exposure to DON-contaminated diets in finisher pigs. A total of 200 pigs (76.6 ± 3.9 kg initial weight) were group housed (five pigs per pen; n = 10 pens/treatment) in a 6-wk trial. Pigs were fed a wheat-barley-soybean meal-based control (CONT) diet with no DON or the basal diet in which clean wheat was replaced by DON-contaminated wheat and wheat screenings to provide DON content of 1, 3, or 5 ppm (DON1, DON3, and DON5, respectively). Individual BW and pen feed intake were recorded weekly to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and gain to feed ratio (G:F). Blood was collected on days 0, 14, and 43 and analyzed for indicators of liver and kidney health. Nitrogen (N)-balance was conducted immediately following the growth performance period to determine the effect of DON on nutrient utilization. Blood and urine samples collected during N balance were analyzed for DON content. Feeding DON reduced (P < 0.05) ADFI and ADG from days 0 to 28 compared with CONT, after which there was no effect of diet on ADFI and ADG. The G:F was lower (P < 0.05) in DON5 fed pigs compared with all treatments during days 0 to 7; however, no treatment effects on G:F was observed from days 8 to 42. Nitrogen retention was lower (P < 0.05) in DON3 and DON5 compared with DON1-fed pigs. Nitrogen retention efficiency was higher (P < 0.05) in DON1 compared with DON3 and DON5 and protein deposition for DON1 pigs was higher (P < 0.05) than all treatments. There were no treatment effects on indicators of liver and kidney health. As dietary DON intake increased, concentration of DON in blood and urine increased. Overall, although there was an initial decrease in ADG and ADFI in pigs receiving diets containing >1 ppm DON, pig performance recovered after a period of time, whereas nutrient utilization continued to be affected after recovery of performance. Moreover, the lack of DON on G:F indicates that the negative effects of DON on growth performance are largely due to reduced feed intake. Overall, although pigs maybe capable of adapting to intake of DON-contaminated diets, their final body weight will be reduced when fed diets containing >1 ppm DON.

Investigation of the Efficacy of a Postbiotic Yeast Cell Wall-Based Blend on Newly-Weaned Pigs under a Dietary Challenge of Multiple Mycotoxins with Emphasis on Deoxynivalenol

Pigs are highly susceptible to mycotoxins. This study investigated the effects of a postbiotic yeast cell wall-based blend (PYCW; Nicholasville, KY, USA) on growth and health of newly-weaned pigs under dietary challenge of multiple mycotoxins. Forty-eight newly-weaned pigs (21 d old) were individually allotted to four dietary treatments, based on a three phase-feeding, in a randomized complete block design (sex; initial BW) with two factors for 36 d. Two factors were dietary mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol: 2000 μg/kg supplemented in three phases; and aflatoxin: 200 μg/kg supplemented only in phase 3) and PYCW (0.2%). Growth performance (weekly), blood serum (d 34), and jejunal mucosa immune and oxidative stress markers (d 36) data were analyzed using MIXED procedure of SAS. Mycotoxins reduced (p < 0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG) during the entire period whereas PYCW did not affect growth performance. Mycotoxins reduced (p < 0.05) serum protein, albumin, creatinine, and alanine aminotransferase whereas PYCW decreased (p < 0.05) serum creatine phosphokinase. Neither mycotoxins nor PYCW affected pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative damage markers in the jejunal mucosa. No interaction was observed indicating that PYCW improved hepatic enzymes regardless of mycotoxin challenge. In conclusion, deoxynivalenol (2000 μg/kg, for 7 to 25 kg body weight) and aflatoxin B1 (200 μg/kg, for 16 to 25 kg body weight) impaired growth performance and nutrient digestibility of newly-weaned pigs, whereas PYCW could partially improve health of pigs regardless of mycotoxin challenge.

Physiological impact on layer chickens fed corn distiller's dried grains with solubles naturally contaminated with deoxynivalenol

Objective

An experiment was conducted to investigate the response of laying hens fed corn distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) that are naturally contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON).

Methods

One hundred and sixty 52-week-old Lohmann Brown Lite hens were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments with 8 replicates per treatment. The dietary treatments were formulated to provide a range of corn DDGS contaminated with DON from 0% to 20% (i.e., 5% scale of increment). All laying hens were subjected to the same management practices in a controlled environment. Body weight, feed intake and egg production were measured biweekly for the entire 8-week experiment. The egg quality was measured biweekly for 8 weeks. On weeks 4 and 8, visceral organ weights, blood metabolites, intestinal morphology, and blood cytokine concentrations were measured.

Results

The inclusion of corn DDGS contaminated with DON in the diet did not alter (p> 0.05) the body weight, feed intake, hen-day egg production, egg mass and feed efficiency of the laying hens. No difference was found (p>0.05) in the egg quality of hens that were fed the dietary treatments. Furthermore, hens that were fed a diet containing corn DDGS contaminated with DON showed no change (p>0.05) in the visceral organ weights, the blood metabolites, and the cytokine concentrations. The crypt depth increased (p<0.05) as the amount of corn DDGS contaminated with DON increased. Proportionately, the villus height to crypt depth ratio of the laying hens decreased (p<0.05) with the increasing level of corn DDGS contaminated with DON in the diet.

Conclusion

The inclusion of corn DDGS contaminated with DON up to 20% in layer diets did not cause changes in egg production performance and egg quality, which indicates that DON is less toxic at the concentration of 1.00 mg DON/kg.