Deoxynivalenol in the Diet Impairs Bone Mineralization in Broiler Chickens.

Marsel Keçi,Josef Böhm,Qendrim Zebeli,Barbara U Metzler-Zebeli,Annegret Lucke,Peter Paulsen

doi:10.3390/toxins11060352

Marsel Keçi, Josef Böhm + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins11060352

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Abstract

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most abundant and important trichothecene mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species. In chickens, DON intake causes feed refusal, impairs performance, gut barrier function, and immunity, and raises oxidative stress. To determine the effect of DON on bone mineralization and serum calcium and phosphorus, 80 newly-hatched chickens were fed 4 diets with 0, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg DON/kg feed in this pilot study. In week 5, chickens were euthanized, femur and tibiotarsus bones were separated from the meat, and after incineration ash composition, as well as serum calcium and phosphorus, were determined using clinical biochemistry. Dietary DON reduced chicken dry matter, calcium, and phosphorus intake, and subsequently body and leg weight. DON affected bone density and composition of the tibiotarsus more drastically than of the femur. However, lower mineral intake did not solely explain our observations of the quadratically lower tibiotarsus density and ash content, as well as linearly decreased Ca content in the femur and tibiotarsus with increasing DON levels. Linearly decreasing serum phosphorus concentrations with increasing DON levels further supported impaired mineral homeostasis due to DON. In conclusion, already low dietary DON contamination of 2.5 mg/kg feed can compromise bone mineralization in chickens.

Highlights

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most abundant and important trichothecenes, mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum [1]
The dry matter intake (DMI) remained similar for all DON levels in the first two weeks of life (Table 1), and only started to decline from the third week of life in the birds fed the DON-contaminated diets (p < 0.05), irrespective of the DON level. Whilst this negative effect of DON on DMI amounted to 3.5% from day 14 to 21, it became stronger until the fifth week of life (p < 0.05), representing a decline in DMI of 8.9 and 12.6% for days 22–28 and 29–33, respectively
This caused an overall reduction in DMI of 7.8% for the whole experimental period in birds exposed to the dietary DON compared to those fed the 0 mg/kg

Summary

Introduction

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most abundant and important trichothecenes, mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum [1]. Trichothecenes belong to the group of sesquiterpenoids containing the 12, 13 epoxide group, considered to be critical for their toxicity and sharing a 9, 10 double bond [2]. Fusarium species infect important grains in agriculture, especially in the northern temperate regions. It is considered as the most widespread mycotoxin producing genus found in cereals that are grown in Europe, Asia, and America [3,4]. Due to its resistance to decontamination processes, such as milling, processing, and heating, DON readily enters animal feed [5].

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