Abstract
The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), one of the most common food contaminants, primarily targets the gastrointestinal tract to affect animal and human health. This study was conducted to examine the protective function of glutamic acid on intestinal injury and oxidative stress caused by DON in piglets. Twenty-eight piglets were assigned randomly into 4 dietary treatments (7 pigs/treatment): 1) uncontaminated control diet (NC), 2) NC+DON at 4 mg/kg (DON), 3) NC+2% glutamic acid (GLU), and 4) NC+2% glutamic acid + DON at 4 mg/kg (DG). At day 15, 30 and 37, blood samples were collected to determine serum concentrations of CAT (catalase), T-AOC (total antioxidant capacity), H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), NO (nitric oxide), MDA (maleic dialdehyde), DAO (diamine oxidase) and D-lactate. Intestinal morphology, and the activation of Akt/mTOR/4EBP1 signal pathway, as well as the concentrations of H2O2, MDA, and DAO in kidney, liver and small intestine, were analyzed at day 37. Results showed that DON significantly (P<0.05) induced oxidative stress in piglets, while this stress was remarkably reduced with glutamic acid supplementation according to the change of oxidative parameters in blood and tissues. Meanwhile, DON caused obvious intestinal injury from microscopic observations and permeability indicators, which was alleviated by glutamic acid supplementation. Moreover, the inhibition of DON on Akt/mTOR/4EBP1 signal pathway was reduced by glutamic acid supplementation. Collectively, these data suggest that glutamic acid may be a useful nutritional regulator for DON-induced damage manifested as oxidative stress, intestinal injury and signaling inhibition.
Highlights
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most pervasive mycotoxin, which are found worldwide in various foods and animal feeds [1,2,3]
Pigs (7 pigs/group) were fed with uncontaminated basal diet (NC), or basal diet contaminated with deoxynivalenol at dose of 4 mg/kg (DON), or uncontaminated basal diet supplemented with 2% glutamic acid (GLU), or DON diet supplemented with 2% glutamic acid (DG)
NC = uncontaminated basal diet, DON = basal diet contaminated with deoxynivalenol (4 mg/kg), GLU = uncontaminated basal diet supplemented with 2% glutamic acid; DG = DON diet supplemented with 2% glutamic acid
Summary
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most pervasive mycotoxin, which are found worldwide in various foods and animal feeds [1,2,3]. DON becomes a serious problem in animal production worldwide, especially in pigs, because of its adverse effects on brain, liver, kidney, and mostly gastrointestinal tract [5,6,7,8,9,10]. These adverse effects include the inhibitions of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, and lesions in the gastrointestinal tract, affecting its barrier function, as well as modulation of the anti-oxidative system [9,11,12,13,14]. A functional amino acid, plays various crucial roles in the intestinal tract, including (1) substrate for various metabolic pathways [15,16], (2) energy source for intestinal mucosa [17], (3) mediator for cell signaling [18,19], (4) regulator for oxidative reactions [20,21], as well as immune responses and barrier function [22,23]
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