MYCOTOXINS ▶▶▶
A recent study by researchers at the Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatchewan, Canada, also points to the potential of miti- gating the effects of DON by feeding higher concentrations of nutrients and antioxidants to promote overall health (and counter the impact of lower feed intake that was seen in the study.) Modelling research was recently published from French sci- entists that focuses on the feed intake response of growing pigs to diets contaminated with mycotoxins. They found that pig age and previous exposure to DON have a modest effect on “resilience capacity” (capacity to deal with toxins in the feed). The researchers propose that the degree of response to mycotoxin-contaminated feed (aversion or less aversion to eating it) can be characterised in terms of “resistance and resilience” traits, and that “these traits can be a potential source for genetic selection to breed animals for enhanced robustness”.
Maize contami- nated by fungus and bacteria.
reason there are few experiments is that animal testing is very costly.” Dr Kim and his colleagues have observed in their studies that partial protection of the pig intestine is achievable through adding enzymes and adsorbents to the diet. But, Dr Kim says, “I was not sure if the protective effect was from the enzyme activity or adsorbents.” Like Prof Jedziniak, Dr Kim notes that while DON has been shown to be deactivated by enzymes in lab tests, proof of this actually occurring in the pig intestine is limited. Organic and inorganic sources In their 2021 review, Dr Kim and his colleagues also note that products currently on the market can combine organic and inorganic sources to enhance their adsorbability, immune stimulation or detoxification ability – but that “the frequent co-contamination with mycotoxins in feedstuffs and feeds in- tended for pig consumption makes mycotoxin-detoxifying agents targeting multiple mycotoxins preferable”.
The latest findings – actual DON exposure While feed intake and feed analysis have long been used to determine how much DON exposure is happening, the amount of biomarkers found in blood plasma can provide more insight. That is explained in a review by Prof Jedziniak and his col- league Dr Agnieszka Tkaczyk, published in August 2021, called “Mycotoxin biomarkers in pigs – current state of knowledge and analytics”. First, Prof Jedziniak and Dr Tkaczyk note that among the my- cotoxins such as DON that are excreted when Fusarium fun- gus infects corn plant, some of the DON is metabolised by the plant into other forms. “Many so-called ‘modified mycotoxins’ have been identified so far and while they are not all more toxic than DON itself, the toxicity level of the toxic ones is yet to be determined,” says Prof Jedziniak. “They may consequently contribute to higher toxicity, and this has already been shown for 3- and 15-acetyl-deoxyniva- lenol (3- and 15-Ac-DON) and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (DON-3-Glc) in pigs and broiler chickens.”
Table 1 – Nutritional strategies to mitigate mycotoxin toxicity. Mycotoxin
Nutritional strategies AFB1 DON ZEN FB1
Selenium, vitamins C, vitamins E, vitamin B1, carotenoids, silymarin, curcumin, butylated hydroxytoluene, alpha lipoic acid, quercetin, resveratrol, rhamnoides oil
Selenium, vitamins C, vitamins E, silymarin, curcumin, functional amino acid (methionine, glutamic acid, arginine, aspartate and lysine), antimicrobial peptide, astragalus
Retinol, as-corbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, silymarin, soybean isoflavone Vitamin E, silymarin, curcumin, soybean isoflavone Mechanisms
Mainly by improving antioxidant capacity and detoxification enzyme activities to alleviate the harm of AFB1 to livestock and poultry.
Primarily through enhancement of antioxidant capacity and immune functions to improve the resistance to DON in livestock and poultry.
Alleviated the toxic effects of ZEN by improving the antioxidant capacity and inhibiting the estrogenic toxicity of ZEN.
Mainly via counteracting the oxidative stress caused by FB1 to livestock. Source: Shin and others, Remediation strategies for mycotoxin control in feed, Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, 2022. 16 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 30, No. 3, 2022
PHOTO: DREAMSTIME
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