Mycotoxicosis, once established, can produce several negative effects in the animal. The intestinal epithelium is the first tissue exposed to mycotoxins, which usually result in gut integrity disruption (Figure 1). This alteration can lead to reduced nutrient absorption area, increased intestinal permeability and alteration of the intestinal microbiota. All together can increase the risk to develop diseases in production animals (Antonissen et al., 2014).
Another critical effect of mycotoxins is the oxidative stress, that can lead to irreversible organ damage, such as hepatic or renal lesions (Figure 1). This process refers to the in vivo imbalance between oxidation and antioxidation function. This imbalance reflects an alteration between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability of a biological system to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or repair the resulting damage. An alteration in the balance between free radicals and antioxidant defense systems can induce chemical damage to DNA, proteins and lipids.
However, exposure to mycotoxins is difficult to avoid. Therefore, dietary strategies have been developed to mitigate the damage induced by these toxic compunds (Li et al., 2005). Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of natural antioxidant substances in alleviating the side effects caused by mycotoxins (Wang et al., 2023).
In this regard, BIŌNTE have developed a liquid solution based on natural antioxidants, that mitigate most prevalent mycotoxins and other toxins to promote animal health and improve performance.
Figure 1. Main side effects induced by mycotoxins in animals.
BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVŌX® supports the animal status: In vitro evaluation of its antioxidant activity
BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVŌX® has an unique combination of selected phytogenics ingredients, such as grape and olive extracts, that improves antioxidant and immune function and provides antimicrobial properties, thus alleviating the side effects induced by mycotoxins.
Its benefits include enhancing the integrity of the intestine, reducing oxidative stress, and detoxifying the liver. In addition, this combination of ingredients strengthens the immune function by creating a barrier against toxins and pathogens, and promotes digestive function.
Since the ingredients contained in BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVŌX® have shown a high capacity to counteract the oxidative stress, an in vitro trial was conduct in collaboration with the University of Valencia, to evaluate its efficacy in mitigate the oxidative stress in Caco-2 cells.
The essay included a preliminary cell viability and proliferation analysis, where BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVŌX® was added at different concentration to Caco-2 cell to determine whether these levels would affect their health and survival.
As shown in figure 2, the formulation and the tested dilutions did not show any reduction in the cell viability of the model studied. Therefore, the product was not cytotoxic in the Caco-2 cell model. Furthermore, the product showed a marked prolongation of cell viability with statistical significance between 25 and 100% (P<0.001) of the tested product, suggesting its positive capability to stimulate the cells growth of the gastro intestinal tract.
Figure 2. Caco-2 cell viability exposed to different dilutions of the liquid formulation. Differences were decleared significat at P< 0.05 (*); P< 0.01 (**) and P< 0.001 (***).
To evaluate the in vitro antioxidant capacity of BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVOX®, Caco-2 cells treated with different dilutions of the product, were exposed to UV rays to induce oxidative stress. Then, the antioxidant capacity was analyzed using flow cytometry.
Also in this case, the product significantly reduced ROS between 1.6 and 100%, demonstrating a broad spectrum of free radical scavenging activity that underlies many cell death or apoptosis mechanisms (Figure 3).
Figure 3. In vitro antioxidant activiy of BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVOX®. Differences were decleared significant at P< 0.05 (*); P< 0.01 (**) and P< 0.001 (***).
These results underline the antioxidant capacity of the ingredients included in the formulation to mitigate the harmful effects of mycotoxin-induced oxidative stress.
Conclusions
BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVOX® have non-cytotoxic effects and significantly enhanced cell viability, thus stimulating the gastrointestinal cells growth. Moreover, the liquid solution showed a notable reduction in ROS levels, highlighting its capacity to mitigate the oxidative stress.
The use of BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® LIVŌX® is reccomended in a wide range of stressful conditions linked to nutritional, environment, heat and management stress.
