Short Communication: Antioxidant capacity in the intestinal mucosa of weanling piglets fed diets containing Fusarium mycotoxins and the efficacy of commercial supplements sold as detoxifiers

Use of Yeast Cell Wall Extract for Growing Pigs Consuming Feed Contaminated with Mycotoxins below or above Regulatory Guidelines: A Meta-Analysis with Meta-Regression

Using a random-effects meta-analysis, the performance of growing pigs under a mycotoxin challenge (MT) with or without supplementation of yeast cell wall extract (YCWE, Mycosorb®, Alltech Inc.) was evaluated. Both MT and YCWE were also compared to animal controls not receiving mycotoxins (CTRL). Meta-regression was used to further explore the impacts of MT at/below (category 1) or above (category 2) global regulatory guidelines. Following the screening, 23 suitable references (30 mycotoxin treatments) were used. Overall, MT lowered average daily gain (ADG, p < 0.001) and average daily feed intake (ADFI, p < 0.0001) from CTRL by -84 and -165 g, respectively. Inclusion of YCWE during mycotoxin challenges (YCWE+MT, average 2.1 kg/ton) tended to result in greater ADG (+17 g, p = 0.068) compared to MT treatments. The gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) was not impacted by MT or YCWE+MT. Further investigation by meta-regression revealed that pigs fed MT in category 1 had lower ADG (-78.5 g, p < 0.001) versus CTRL, while YCWE+MT had higher ADG (+48 g, p < 0.001) over MT and was similar to CTRL. The ADFI was not impacted, although YCWE+MT had ADFI values similar to the CTRL. In category 2, ADG and ADFI of pigs fed MT were lower than CTRL (-85.1 and -166 g, respectively, p < 0.0001), with a tendency for YCWE+MT to result in higher ADFI (+25.3 g, p = 0.062). In summary, the inclusion of YCWE provided benefits to performance during common mycotoxin challenge levels (at or below regulatory guidelines).

Comparative efficacy of commercially available deoxynivalenol detoxifying feed additives on growth performance, total tract digestibility of components, and physiological responses in nursery pigs fed diets formulated with naturally contaminated corn

Comparative efficacy of deoxynivalenol (DON) detoxifying feed additives (FA) was evaluated in growth performance (exp. 1) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD; exp. 2) nursery pig studies. Six corn-soybean meal-based diets were used: 1) positive control (PC, formulated with <1.5 ppm DON corn), negative control (NC, formulated with 5.5 ppm DON corn), NC + FA1 (clay plus yeast cell wall extract), NC + FA2 (aluminosilicate), NC + FA3 (aluminosilicate plus fungal extract), and NC + FA4 (sodium metabisulfite, SMB). In exp. 1, 144 pigs (body weight [BW], 10.2 ± 0.1kg) were housed (4 pigs/pen), allocated to diets (n = 6) based on BW, and fed for 4-wk. The BW and feed intake were monitored weekly. On d 7, one pig/pen was bled for plasma and euthanized for organ weight and tissue samples. Assayed DON concentration in PC, NC, NC + FA4 was 0.29, 2.86, and 1.21 ppm, respectively. In wk-1, the average daily gain (ADG) of pigs fed NC + FA4 was not different (P > 0.05) to that of pigs fed PC diet but greater (P = 0.01) than for pigs fed NC without or with other FA. Pigs fed NC and NC + FA2 had lower (P = 0.026) average daily feed intake (ADFI) than pigs fed PC and NC + FA3. Pigs fed NC + FA4 had greater (P = 0.003) G:F than pigs fed the other diets. Diets had no effect (P > 0.05) on ADG, ADFI, and G: F after first week, plasma concentration of urea and creatinine or liver and spleen weight. Pigs fed NC diets had greater (P = 0.01) jejunal mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase 1 relative to pigs fed PC or NC plus FA. Jejunal histomorphology and mRNA expression of nutrient transporters, inflammatory cytokines, and tight junction proteins and ceca digesta concentration of short-chain fatty acids were not affected (P > 0.05) by the diet. In exp. 2, 24 barrows (BW 10.2 ± 0.3 kg) were individually placed in metabolism crates and allocated to four diets: PC, NC, NC + FA3, and NC + FA4 (n = 6) containing TiO₂ as digestibility marker. Pigs were adjusted to diets for 5 d, followed by a 2-d grab fecal sample collection. Pigs fed PC and NC + FA4 diets had higher ATTD of dry matter, gross energy, and crude protein than NC fed pigs. The FA3 was intermediate in digestibility response. In conclusion, FA containing sequestering component plus fungal extract or SMB in DON-contaminated feed resulted in commensurate nursery pig performance to PC. The tested FA mitigated intestinal oxidative stress through decreased expression of genes for superoxide dismutase.

The development of antioxidant system in the intestinal tract of broiler chickens

The gastrointestinal tract is the site for the uptake of nutrients from the external environment. We hypothesized that the antioxidant system in the intestinal tract has a vital protective role from the oxidative damage induced by oxidants in foods. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of the antioxidant system in the intestine of chickens. The activity and gene expression of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the content of the non-enzymatic substance glutathione (GSH) were measured in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of chickens at 1, 3, 7, 11, 14, 21, 35, and 42 d of age. The results showed that the small intestinal tract had relatively higher SOD activity and GSH concentration and lower CAT and GSH-Px activities, compared with those of other visceral organs. CAT and GSH-Px activities and GSH concentration showed a decreasing trend with age, whereas SOD activity was not significantly influenced by age. The gene expression of SOD1, SOD2, and GSH-Px7 showed a dramatic decrease from 3 d of age. The results indicated that SOD and GSH were highly expressed in the first week of age after hatching. To conclude, the results suggest that SOD and GSH play a vital protective role in the small intestine after hatching, which contributes to rapid development of the intestine.