TOXICOLOGICAL HIGHLIGHT A New Perspective on Deoxynivalenol and Growth Suppression

growth receptor acid-labile subunit. Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a secondary metabolite of Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium graminearum and is one of the most common mycotoxin contaminants of wheat, barley, maize, and cereal-based food products (Canady et al., 2001; Schothorst and van Egmond, 2004). Like other trichothecenes, DON induces a spectrum of effects in farm and laboratory animals including emesis (DON has the trivial name ‘‘vomitoxin’ ’ because high doses cause emesis in swine), immunotoxic effects, and suppression of appetite and growth. A dietary no-observed effect level (NOEL) of 1 ppm DON was established in a 2-year mouse feeding study (Iverson et al., 1995). The NOEL corresponded to an average daily intake of 100 lg DON/kg body weight. The critical finding for establishing the NOEL was growth suppression, whic