Effects and Underlying Mechanisms of Zearalenone Mycotoxin at Concentrations Close to the EC Recommendation on the Colon of Piglets after Weaning

Valeria Cristina Bulgaru (), Ana Maria Pertea, Iulian Alexandru Grosu, Andrei Cristian Anghel, Gina Cecilia Pistol, Daniela Eliza Marin, Anca Dinischiotu and Ionelia Taranu
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Valeria Cristina Bulgaru: Laboratory of Animal Biology, National Institute of Research and Development for Biology and Animal Nutrition, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Ana Maria Pertea: Laboratory of Animal Biology, National Institute of Research and Development for Biology and Animal Nutrition, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Iulian Alexandru Grosu: Laboratory of Animal Biology, National Institute of Research and Development for Biology and Animal Nutrition, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Andrei Cristian Anghel: Laboratory of Animal Biology, National Institute of Research and Development for Biology and Animal Nutrition, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Gina Cecilia Pistol: Laboratory of Animal Biology, National Institute of Research and Development for Biology and Animal Nutrition, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Daniela Eliza Marin: Laboratory of Animal Biology, National Institute of Research and Development for Biology and Animal Nutrition, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Anca Dinischiotu: Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei 91-95, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Ionelia Taranu: Laboratory of Animal Biology, National Institute of Research and Development for Biology and Animal Nutrition, 077015 Balotesti, Romania

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium fungi that contaminates food and feed, affecting both human and animal health. Among farm animals, the pig is a great consumer of grains and has a native sensitivity to mycotoxins. As the main route of contamination is oral, the intestine is the first defense barrier that plays an important role in the immune response being able to secrete effector molecules (cytokines). At the European level, there are no regulations regarding the amount of ZEN that can be present in the feed of piglets, only recommendations for piglets 0.100 mg ZEN/kg feed (100 ppb). In this study, the effects of ZEN in concentrations below (75 ppb) and above (290 ppb) EU recommendation on the level of some key markers involved in the oxidative and inflammatory response, as well as the mechanisms and signaling pathways through which ZEN could produce its toxicity, were monitored in the colon of weaned piglets. The exposure of the piglets to the lower concentration of ZEN (75 ppb) did not lead to changes in stress and inflammation markers or in the signaling pathways associated with these processes.

Keywords: zearalenone; piglets; weaning; inflammation; oxidative stress; signaling pathway (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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