Effect of dietary T-2 fusariotoxin concentrations on the health and production of white Pekin duck broilers

Abstract

The effects of different dietary levels of T-2 toxin on production, biological, immunological, and pathological parameters of growing white Pekin ducks were studied to establish the "no effect" dietary concentration of, and "no effect" exposure time to, pure T-2 toxin. Day-old white Pekin ducks were randomly allotted to nine groups of 10 ducks each. One group served as a control, and no mycotoxin was added to its feed. The feeds of the experimental groups were supplemented with 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 mg purified T-2 toxin/kg, respectively, from Day 1 until Day 49 of the experiment. Dermatotoxic oral lesions developed in most experimental ducks within 2 d after the start of feeding T-2 toxin-contaminated feeds. The gradual disappearance of macroscopic signs indicated the development of tolerance in groups treated with the lower T-2 toxin content. No repair was found in the 3 and 4 mg/kg groups. Dietary concentrations of T-2 toxin below 0.4 mg/kg had no effect on the average weekly weight gain in the first 6 wk, but a severe decrease was found in the last week of the experiment. The 0.6 mg/kg dietary T-2 toxin had no effect on weight gain in the first 3 wk. At Week 4 and later, the weekly weight gain was significantly reduced, and the final live weight of this group was also significantly lower than that of the control. Dietary T-2 concentrations of 1 mg/kg and greater uniformly depressed growth rate. Only the 3 and 4 mg/kg groups refused feed during the first week. From Week 3 on, the feed intakes of the 0.6 to 4 mg/kg groups were usually less than that of the control group, indicating feed refusal. Serum and plasma chemical values and hematological parameters failed to show dose-dependent effects. The blastogenic response of lymphocytes to nonspecific and specific mitogens was distinctly impaired by the T-2 toxin at all levels in the feed. In the 3 and 4 mg/kg groups, the histological examination revealed lymphocyte depletion in the spleen and bursa of Fabricius.

Multiannual mycotoxin survey in feed materials and feedingstuffs

“…Even though the inconsistency with EU Commission guidance values took place in case of 24 samples only, it should be taken into account, that the values are set for single compounds. Moreover, possible productivity and animal health problems connected with mycotoxins present in feed at levels lower than those set by the European Commission have been pointed out before (Rafai et al, 2000;Obremski et al, 2008;Yunus et al, 2012;Grenier and Applegate, 2013). With a view to the fact, that 60% of the complete feed samples as well as 70% of the maize silage samples delivered by veterinary doctors and farmers were examined following some breeding problems, and that other factors' influence had been eliminated, it may be assumed, that the problems could have been associated with the mycotoxins, even though their levels were below the guidance values given by the EU.…”

Ammonia concentration and relative humidity in poultry houses affect the immune response of broilers

“…Moreover, NH 3 and RH in a poultry house had an additive detrimental effect on the proliferation of lymphocytes. It was reported that other types of stressors also decreased the proliferation of lymphocytes (Rafai et al, 2000;Swamy et al, 2004;Long et al, 2011). In chickens, it is well known that stress status is associated with increased plasma corticosterone concentrations because corticosterone is the end product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.…”

Subclinical doses of T-2 toxin impair acquired immune response and liver cytochrome P450 in pigs

“…The production of antibodies can also be impaired (Niyo et al, 1988;Kamalavenkatesh et al, 2005;Li et al, 2006a,b). Furthermore, T-2 toxin reduces lymphocyte proliferative response (Rafai et al, 1995b(Rafai et al, , 2000Kamalavenkatesh et al, 2005) and disturbs the maturation process of dendritic cells (Blaylock et al, 1993;Hymery et al, 2006).…”