Abstract
Deoxynivalenol (DON) has various toxicological effects in humans and pigs that result from the ingestion of contaminated cereal products. This study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of dietary supplementation with glutamic acid on piglets challenged with DON. A total of 20 piglets weaned at 28 d of age were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 4 treatments (5 piglets/treatment): 1) basal diet, negative control (NC); 2) basal diet +4 mg/kg DON (DON); 3) basal diet +2% (g/g) glutamic acid (GLU); 4) basal diet +4 mg/kg DON +2% glutamic acid (DG). A 7-d adaptation period was followed by 30 days of treatment. A metabolite analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR)-based metabolomic technology and the determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities for plasma, as well as the activity of Caspase-3 and the proliferation of epithelial cells were conducted. The results showed that contents of low-density lipoprotein, alanine, arginine, acetate, glycoprotein, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), glycine, lactate, and urea, as well as the glutamate/creatinine ratio were higher but high-density lipoprotein, proline, citrate, choline, unsaturated lipids and fumarate were lower in piglets of DON treatment than that of NC treatment (P<0.05). Compared with DON treatment, dietary supplementation with glutamic acid increased the plasma concentrations of proline, citrate, creatinine, unsaturated lipids, and fumarate, and decreased the concentrations of alanine, glycoprotein, TMAO, glycine, and lactate, as well as the glutamate/creatinine ratio (P<0.05). Addition glutamic acid to DON treatment increased the plasma activities of SOD and GSH-Px and the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labeling indexes for the jejunum and ileum (P<0.05). These novel findings indicate that glutamic acid has the potential to repair the injuries associated with oxidative stress as well as the disturbances of energy and amino acid metabolism induced by DON.
Highlights
The trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is often found as a contaminant in agricultural staples, and the toxic effects of DON have been wellcharacterized in humans as well as pigs which is the most susceptible animal [1]
Oxidative stress has been shown to be involved in the progression of DONinduced injuries, and investigations have found that dietary supplementation with DON increases the production of reactive oxygen metabolities, such as hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide [19]
Among various mycotoxins, including DON, aflatoxin B1, zearalenone, fumonisin, fusariotoxin T2, and ochratoxin A, DON is encountered at the highest concentrations in the cereal foods worldwide [27, 28]
Summary
The trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is often found as a contaminant in agricultural staples, and the toxic effects of DON have been wellcharacterized in humans as well as pigs which is the most susceptible animal [1]. The pathogenesis caused by DON in vivo is being revealed, little is known about the metabolic mechanism of DON in piglets. A functional amino acid, is one of the most abundant amino acids in intestinal tract protein [7]. This nutrient plays multiple roles in the intestine, including energy production [8], taste activation [9], metabolism[10], redox state and detoxification process [11]. We have found that supplementation with glutamic acid can alleviate the negative effects of DON in piglets. Little is known about the mechanism by which glutamic acid exerts its beneficial effects in DON-challenged piglets
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