Effect of Folic Acid Supplementation and Dietary Protein Level on Growth Performance, Serum Chemistry and Immune Response in Weanling Piglets Fed Differing Concentrations of Aflatoxin.

Ding Wang,Merlin D Lindemann,Mark J Estienne

doi:10.3390/toxins12100651

Abstract

Effects of folic acid and protein levels on growth and serum chemistry in pigs fed aflatoxin were determined in two experiments. Increasing aflatoxin (250 to 800 ppb) decreased (P < 0.05) weight gain and feed intake for both of the 35-day trials. In Experiment 1, increasing aflatoxin (0, 250, 500 ppb), increased linearly (P < 0.05) aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALKP) and ɣ-glutamyl transferase (GGT). Folic acid (0, 2.0, 5.0, 12.5 ppm) increased linearly (P < 0.05) serum K, Ca, P, Mg, and AST with the largest effect observed at 12.5 ppm. Folic acid decreased (P < 0.05) blood urea nitrogen (BUN): creatinine and Na:K. In Experiment 2, aflatoxin (800 ppb) increased (P < 0.05) glucose and GGT, and decreased (P < 0.05) Na:K and albumin:globulin. Increasing protein from 15 to 18% elevated BUN: creatinine (P < 0.05), albumin: globulin (P < 0.05), albumin (P < 0.05) and ALKP (P < 0.05). Folic acid (2 ppm) elevated (P < 0.05) BUN, and interacted with both aflatoxin (P < 0.10) and protein (P < 0.05) on BUN. Adding folic acid to aflatoxin contaminated diets improved some measures of clinical chemistry in Experiment 1 but not traditional growth performance measures. The higher protein level reduced the effects of aflatoxicosis on growth.

Highlights

Aflatoxins were first isolated and characterized in 1963 after 100,000 young turkeys died following the consumption of mold-contaminated peanut meal [1]
Key Contribution: Poor growth in pigs caused by aflatoxicosis was partially ameliorated by feeding a diet with a higher crude protein level, while the addition of folic acid to aflatoxin-contaminated diets improved some measures of clinical chemistry but not traditional growth performance measures
(described later), response measures were not affected by aflatoxin and folic acid level interactions

Summary

Introduction

Aflatoxins were first isolated and characterized in 1963 after 100,000 young turkeys died following the consumption of mold-contaminated peanut meal [1]. Miller [4] stated in 1995 that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Estimated that 25% to 50% of the world’s food crops were affected by mycotoxins, resulting in the loss of over 1 billion tons per year of feedstuffs. More recent assessments [5] confirmed the FAO estimate of 25%, and noted that the figure greatly underestimated the occurrence of mycotoxins above the detectable levels which may be 60–80%. In the United States, computer modeling suggests that there is a loss of USD 932,000,000 due to mycotoxin contamination, and USD 466,000,000 for Toxins 2020, 12, 651; doi:10.3390/toxins12100651 www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins

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