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

ABSTRACT: Several studies have reported a wide range of severe health effects as well as clinical signs, when livestock animals are exposed to high concentration of mycotoxins. However, little is known regarding health effects of mycotoxins at low levels. Thus, a long-term feeding trial (between May 2017 and December 2019) was used to evaluate the effect of low doses of mycotoxin mixtures on performance of broiler chickens fed a naturally contaminated diet. In total, 18 successive broiler performance trials were carried out during the study period, with approximately 2200 one-day-old Ross-308 chicks used for each trial. Feed samples given to birds were collected at the beginning of each trial and analysed for multi-mycotoxins using a validated LC-MS/MS method. Furthermore, parameters including feed intake, body weight and feed efficiency were recorded on a weekly basis. In total, 24 mycotoxins were detected in samples analysed with deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), fumonisins (FBs), apicidin, enniatins (ENNs), emodin and beauvericin (BEV), the most prevalent mycotoxins. Furthermore, significantly higher levels (however below EU guidance values) of DON, ZEN, FBs, BEV, ENNs and diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) were detected in 6 of the 18 performance trials. A strong positive relationship was observed between broilers feed efficiency and DON (R2 = 0.85), FBs (R2 = 0.53), DAS (R2 = 0.86), ZEN (R2 = 0.92), ENNs (R2 = 0.60) and BEV (R2 = 0.73). Moreover, a three-way interaction regression model revealed that mixtures of ZEN, DON and FBs (p = 0.01, R2 = 0.84) and ZEN, DON and DAS (p = 0.001, R2 = 0.91) had a statistically significant interaction effect on the birds' feed efficiency. As farm animals are often exposed to low doses of mycotoxin mixtures (especially fusarium mycotoxins), a cumulative risk assessment in terms of measuring and mitigating against the economic, welfare and health impacts is needed for this group of compounds.

SUBMITTER: Kolawole O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7404967 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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

Kolawole Oluwatobi O Graham Abigail A Donaldson Caroline C Owens Bronagh B Abia Wilfred A WA Meneely Julie J Alcorn Michael J MJ Connolly Lisa L Elliott Christopher T CT

Toxins 20200701 7

Several studies have reported a wide range of severe health effects as well as clinical signs, when livestock animals are exposed to high concentration of mycotoxins. However, little is known regarding health effects of mycotoxins at low levels. Thus, a long-term feeding trial (between May 2017 and December 2019) was used to evaluate the effect of low doses of mycotoxin mixtures on performance of broiler chickens fed a naturally contaminated diet. In total, 18 successive broiler performance tria ...[more]

PMID: 32630277

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Project description:Deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FB) are the most frequently encountered mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species in livestock diets. The effect of subclinical doses of mycotoxins in chickens is largely unknown, and in particular the susceptibility of birds to pathogenic challenge when fed these fungal metabolites. Therefore, the present study reports the effects of DON and FB on chickens challenged with Eimeria spp, responsible for coccidiosis. Broilers were fed diets from hatch to day 20, containing no mycotoxins, 1.5 mg DON/kg, 20 mg FB/kg, or both toxins (12 pens/diet; 7 birds/pen). At day 14, six pens of birds per diet (half of the birds) were challenged with a 25×-recommended dose of coccidial vaccine, and all birds (challenged and unchallenged) were sampled 6 days later. As expected, performance of birds was strongly affected by the coccidial challenge. Ingestion of mycotoxins did not further affect the growth but repartitioned the rate of reduction (between the fraction due to the change in maintenance and feed efficiency), and reduced apparent nitrogen digestibility. Intestinal lesions and number of oocysts in the jejunal mucosa and feces of challenged birds were more frequent and intense in the birds fed mycotoxins than in birds fed control feed. The upregulation of cytokines (interleukin (IL) IL-1?, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10) following coccidial infection was higher in the jejunum of birds fed mycotoxins. Further, the higher intestinal immune response was associated with a higher percentage of T lymphocytes CD4?CD25?, also called Tregs, observed in the cecal tonsils of challenged birds fed mycotoxins. Interestingly, the increase in FB biomarker of exposure (sphinganine/sphingosine ratio in serum and liver) suggested a higher absorption and bioavailability of FB in challenged birds. The interaction of DON and FB was very dependent on the endpoint assessed, with three endpoints reporting antagonism, nine additivity, and two synergism. In conclusion, subclinical doses of DON and FB showed little effects in unchallenged chickens, but seem to result in metabolic and immunologic disturbances that amplify the severity of coccidiosis.

Project description:Fusarium toxins are one of the most common contaminants in poultry diets. The co-occurrence of fumonisins (FUM) and deoxynivalenol (DON), even at a subclinical dose, negatively affects the growth performance, intestinal integrity and induce subclinical necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens. Loss of gut integrity can be expected to alter the intestinal microbiota’s composition. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of combined FUM and DON on the cecal microbiome profile and predicted metabolic functions and a short chain fatty acid profile in broilers challenged with Clostridium perfringens. A total of 240 1 day-old chicks were randomly assigned to two treatments: a control diet and the control diet with 3 mg/kg FUM + 4 mg/kg DON each with eight replications. All the birds were received cocci vaccine at d0. All birds in both treatment groups were challenged with C. perfringens 1 × 108 CFU via feed on d 19 and 20 to achieve 5% mortality. On d 35, the FUM and DON contaminated diet numerically (P = 0.06) decreased the body weight gain (BWG) by 84 g compared to the control group. The bacterial compositions of the cecal contents were analyzed by sequencing the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Overall, microbial richness and diversity increased (P < 0.02) during the studied period (d 21–35). Cecal contents of birds in the FUM + DON group had greater (P < 0.05) microbial evenness and diversity (Shannon index) compared to the control group. FUM + DON exposure decreased (P = 0.001) the relative abundance of Proteobacteria in the cecal content, compared to the control group. The combined FUM + DON significantly increased the relative abundance of the Defluviitaleaceae and Lachnospiraceae families (P < 0.05) but decreased the abundances of the Moraxellaceae and Streptococcaceae (P < 0.05) compared to the control group birds. At the genus level, FUM + DON exposure decreased (P < 0.05) Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas abundance and had a tendency (P = 0.08) to decrease Thermincola abundance compared to the control group. In the ileum, no NE-specific microscopic abnormalities were found; however, the tip of the ileal villi were compromised. The present findings showed that dietary FUM and DON contamination, even at subclinical levels, altered cecal microbial composition, dysregulated intestinal functions, and impaired the gut immune response, potentially predisposing the birds to necrotic enteritis.

Dataset Information

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

Publications

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

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