Ingestion of Deoxynivalenol Reduces Diet‐induced Obesity in the Mouse

Abstract

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a Fusarium mycotoxin that has been long known to suppress weight gain of monogastric animals. We tested the hypothesis that DON consumption will reduce weight and adiposity in diet‐induced obese (DIO) mice. Female B6C3F1 mice were fed 60% kcal high fat diet (HFD) for 8 wk to induce obesity. They were then regrouped and fed HFD containing either 0, 2, 5,10 or ppm DON for an additional 8 wk. Animals fed HFD containing 5 ppm and 10 ppm DON exhibited reductions in body weights of 16% and 23%, respectively, while periuterine fat pad weights of the DON 10 ppm HFD group were reduced by 40%. Insulin like growth factor acid labile subunit (IGFALS) was reduced by 20 and 42% in the 5 and 10 ppm DON‐fed mice, respectively. In subsequent experiments, we determined that DIO mice fed DON exhibited reduced food intake and that these animals regained weight upon removal of DON from the diet. Taken together, our data indicate that DON attenuated weight and adiposity in DIO mice in a reversible manner and that this corresponded to both decreased food intake and deregulation of the growth hormone axis. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 59‐0790‐4‐119 and by PHS Grant ES03358