Biotransformation Approaches To Alleviate the Effects Induced byFusarium Mycotoxins in Swine

Mycotoxin mitigation is of major interest as ingestion of mycotoxins results in poor animal health, decreasedproductivity, as well as substantial economic losses. A feed additive (FA) consisting of a combination of bacteria (EubacteriumBBSH797) and enzyme (fumonisin esterase FumD) was tested in pigs for its ability to neutralize the effects of mono- and cocontaminateddiets with deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FB) on hematology, biochemistry, tissue morphology, andimmune response. Forty-eight animals, allocated into eight groups, received one of eight diets for 35 days: a control diet, a dietcontaminated with either DON (3 mg/kg) or FB (6 mg/kg), or both toxins, and the same four diets with FA. Inclusion of FArestored the circulating number of neutrophils of piglets fed the FB and DON + FB diets. Similarly, FA counteracted the minorchanges observed on plasma concentrations of albumin and creatinine. In lung, the lesions induced by the ingestion of FB inmono- and co-contaminated diets were no longer observed after addition of FA in these diets. Lesions recorded in the liver ofpigs fed either of the contaminated diets with FA were partly reduced, and the increased hepatocyte proliferation was totallyneutralized when FA was present in the co-contaminated diet. After 35 days of exposure, the development of the vaccinalresponse was significantly improved in animals fed diets supplemented with FA, as shown by results of lymphocyte proliferation,cytokine expression in spleen, and the production of specific Ig. Similarly, in jejunum of animals fed diets with FA, occurrence oflesions and upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines were much less obvious. The ameliorative effects provided by FA suggestthat this approach would be suitable in the control of DON and FB that commonly co-occur in feed