Occurrence of Aflatoxin B_(1),deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in feeds in China during 2018-2020

Background:The current study was conducted to investigate the individual and combined occurrence of aflatoxin B_(1)(AFB_(1)),deoxynivalenol(DON)and zearalenone(ZEN)in feeds from various Provinces of China during 2018 to 2020.A total of 3,507 feed samples,including 2,090 feed ingredients and 1,417 complete feed samples,were collected from different areas of China for mycotoxins analysis.Results:The individual contamination of AFB_(1),DON and ZEN were present in more than 81.9%,96.4% and 96.9% of feed samples,respectively,with average concentration ranges of AFB_(1) between 1.2-27.4μg/kg,DON between 458.0-1,925.4μg/kg and ZEN between 48.1-326.8μg/kg.Notably,0.9%,0.5% and 0.1% of feed ingredients,and 1.2-12.8%,0.9-2.9% and 0-8.9% of complete feeds for pigs,poultry and ruminants with AFB_(1),ZEN and DON that exceeded China’s safety standards,respectively.Moreover,more than 81.5%of feed ingredients and 95.7% of complete feeds were co-contaminated with various combinations of these mycotoxins.Conclusion:This study indicates that the feeds in China were universally contaminated with AFB_(1),DON and ZEN during the past 3 years.These findings highlight the significance of monitoring mycotoxin contaminant levels in the domestic animal feed,and the importance of carrying out feed administration and remediation strategies for mycotoxin control.

Invited review:Remediation strategies for mycotoxin control in feed

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of different species of fungi.Aflatoxin B1(AFB1),deoxynivalenol(DON),zearalenone(ZEN)and fumonisin B1(FB1)are the main mycotoxins contaminating animal feedstuffs.These mycotoxins can primarily induce hepatotoxicity,immunotoxicity,neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity,consequently cause adverse effects on the health and performance of animals.Therefore,physical,chemical,biological and nutritional regulation approaches have been developed as primary strategies for the decontamination and detoxification of these mycotoxins in the feed industry.Meanwhile,each of these techniques has its drawbacks,including inefficient,costly,or impractically applied on large scale.This review summarized the advantages and disadvantages of the different remediation strategies,as well as updates of the research progress of these strategies for AFB1,DON,ZEN and FB1 control in the feed industry.

Ferroptosis is involved in deoxynivalenol-induced intestinal damage in pigs

Background Deoxynivalenol(DON)is a widespread issue for feed and food safety,leading to animal and human health risks.The objective of this study was to determine whether ferroptosis is involved in DON-induced intestinal injury in piglets.Three groups of 21-day-old male weanling piglets(n 4,serum and small intestines were=7/group)were fed a control diet,or diet adding 1.0 or 3.0 mg DON/kg.At week collected to assay for biochemistry,histology,redox status and ferroptosis-related genes expression.In addition,the involvement of ferroptosis and the role of FTL gene in DON-induced cell death were further verified in the IPEC-J2 cells.Results Compared to the control,dietary supplementation of DON at 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg induced different degrees of damage in the duodenum,jejunum and ileum,and increased(P<0.05)serum lipopolysaccharide concentration by 46.2%-51.4%.Dietary DON supplementation at 1.0 and(or)3.0 mg/kg increased(P<0.05)concentrations of malondialdehyde(17.4%-86.5%)and protein carbonyl by 33.1%-92.3%in the duodenum,jejunum and ileum.In addition,dietary supplemented with DON upregulated(P<0.05)ferroptotic gene(DMT1)and anti-ferroptotic genes(FTL and FTH1),while downregulated(P<0.05)anti-ferroptotic genes(FPN,FSP1 and CISD1)in the duodenum of the porcine.Furthermore,the in vitro study has demonstrated that deferiprone,a potent ferroptotic inhibitor,mitigated(P<0.05)DON-induced cytotoxicity in porcine small intestinal IPEC-J2 cells.Additionally,deferiprone prevented or alleviated(P<0.05)the dysregulation of ferroptosis-related genes(ACSL4 and FTL)by DON in IPEC-J2 cells.Moreover,specific siRNA knockdown FTL gene expression compromised the DON-induced cell death in IPEC-J2 cells.Conclusions In conclusion,this study revealed that ferroptosis is involved in DON-induced intestinal damage in porcine,and sheds a new light on the toxicity of DON to piglets.

Nutritional impact of mycotoxins in food animal production and strategies for mitigation

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi that are commonly detected as natural contaminants in agricultural commodities worldwide.Mycotoxin exposure can lead to mycotoxicosis in both animals and humans when found in animal feeds and food products,and at lower concentrations can affect animal performance by disrupting nutrient digestion,absorption,metabolism,and animal physiology.Thus,mycotoxin contamination of animal feeds represents a significant issue to the livestock industry and is a health threat to food animals.Since prevention of mycotoxin formation is difficult to undertake to avoid contamination,mitigation strategies are needed.This review explores how the mycotoxins aflatoxins,deoxynivalenol,zearalenone,fumonisins and ochratoxin A impose nutritional and metabolic effects on food animals and summarizes mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of mycotoxicity.