ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to measure the effects of chronic exposure to fumonisins via the ingestion of feed containing naturally contaminated corn in growing pigs infected or not with Salmonella spp. This exposure to a moderate dietary concentration of fumonisins (11.8 ppm) was sufficient to induce a biological effect in pigs (Sa/So ratio), but no mortality or pathology was observed over 63 days of exposure. No mortality or related clinical signs, even in cases of inoculation with Salmonella (5 × 104 CFU), were observed either. Fumonisins, at these concentrations, did not affect the ability of lymphocytes to proliferate in the presence of mitogens, but after seven days post-inoculation they led to inhibition of the ability of specific Salmonella lymphocytes to proliferate following exposure to a specific Salmonella antigen. However, the ingestion of fumonisins had no impact on Salmonella translocation or seroconversion in inoculated pigs. The inoculation of Salmonella did not affect faecal microbiota profiles, but exposure to moderate concentrations of fumonisins transiently affected the digestive microbiota balance. In cases of co-infection with fumonisins and Salmonella, the microbiota profiles were rapidly and clearly modified as early as 48 h post-Salmonella inoculation. Therefore under these experimental conditions, exposure to an average concentration of fumonisins in naturally contaminated feed had no effect on pig health but did affect the digestive microbiota balance, with Salmonella exposure amplifying this phenomenon.
Subject(s)
Food Contamination , Fumonisins/administration & dosage , Immunity, Cellular/drug effects , Intestines/microbiology , Salmonella typhimurium/immunology , Sus scrofa/immunology , Animals , Animals, Inbred Strains , Antigens, Bacterial/analysis , Antigens, Bacterial/pharmacology , Biomarkers/blood , Biomarkers/metabolism , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Feces/microbiology , Female , France , Fumonisins/toxicity , Intestinal Mucosa/metabolism , Intestines/immunology , Lymphocytes/drug effects , Lymphocytes/immunology , Male , Microbial Viability/drug effects , Mitogens/pharmacology , Salmonella typhimurium/drug effects , Salmonella typhimurium/growth & development , Salmonella typhimurium/isolation & purification , Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms , Sphingosine/analogs & derivatives , Sphingosine/blood , Sphingosine/metabolism , Sus scrofa/growth & development , Sus scrofa/metabolism , Sus scrofa/microbiology , Weight Gain/drug effectsABSTRACT
Deoxynivalenol (DON), a mycotoxin produced by some Fusarium species, is a frequent contaminant of cereal. In the present study, 24 weanling piglets received either control feed or feed naturally contaminated with DON (2.8 mg/kg) for four weeks. Consumption of contaminated feed significantly reduced the animal weight gain during the first week of the experiment, but had a moderate effect on cultivable bacteria in the pig intestine. By contrast, changes in the intestinal microflora were observed by Capillary Electrophoresis Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism (CE-SSCP) in DON-exposed animals, suggesting an impact of this toxin on the dynamics of intestinal bacteria communities.
