Introduction
Mycotoxins in feed can induce detrimental effects on the health of pigs. The most commonly described symptoms are immunosuppression, as well as reduced average daily gain, alteration of the intestinal barrier and oxidative stress (Pierron et al., 2016; Yuan et al., 2019). The mycotoxins mitigation strategies are based on the inclusion of anti-mycotoxin products into the diet of animals that may be exposed to these compounds.
At BIŌNTE we are committed to developing high quality solutions that allow a high level of detoxification to protect and enhance animal health.
BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS: in vivo trial in weaned piglets
BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS has a triple action including adsorption, bioprotection and post-biotic effect. Its ingredients include high quality adsorbent materials, natural extracts and a combination of selected yeasts.
In order to evaluate the efficacy of BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX PLUS on weaned piglets exposed to mycotoxins, an in vivo trial was conducted in collaboration with the University of Thessaly.
In this study, 150 piglets, 28 days old, were randomly distributed into two treatments (Figure 1):
- T1 (control): naturally contaminated diet with 970.2 ppb fumonisin B1 (FB1) and 250.1 ppb fumonisin B2 (FB2);
- T2 (experimental): control diet + 2.5 kg/t BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS.
Figure 1. Experimental design
Feed intake, body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG) and mortality rate were measured periodically during the experiment. Similarly, antioxidant function was assessed by analyzing thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyls (CARBs) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). In addition, on the last day of the experiment, liver tissue samples were collected for histopathological evaluations.
BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS improves production parameters, antioxidant function and reduces histopathological lesions induced by mycotoxins in piglets
The inclusion of the anti-mycotoxin product BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS was found to significantly improve BW and ADG during 42 days of weaning.
As shown in figure 2, there was an increase of 19.5% in BW and 12.1% in ADG, indicating that the product improved the productive parameters of the animals. In addition, a 50% reduction in mortality was recorded, showing that BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS not only strengthened the piglets during this sensitive growth stage, but also reduced farm costs.
Figure 2. Productive parameters in weaned piglets fed with or without BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS
Concerning oxidative stress biomarkers, as shown in figure 3, piglets receiving the diet supplemented with BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS showed a 24% reduction of TBARS and a 15.6% reduction of CARBs. Also, an increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was recorded compared to pigs receiving the control diet (+6.5%, figure 3).
Figure 3. Oxidative stress biomarkers in weaned piglets fed with or without BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS
With regard to the results obtained from the histopathological examination, figure 4 shows the liver lesions induced by FB1+FB2. In fact, the histopathological analysis showed a mild degeneration of hepatocytes and a mild periportal infiltration by lymphocytes and plasma (left picture). However, dietary supplementation with BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS (right photo) neutralized the mycotoxin-induced liver lesions for 42 days post-weaning.
Figure 4. Histopathological analysis in weaned piglets fed with or without BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS
These results, published in the journal TOXINS, demonstrate how the use of BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS optimized production parameters and antioxidant status in weaned pigs challenged by fumonisins for 42 days post-weaning.
Conclusions
The inclusion of the product BIŌNTE® QUIMITŌX® PLUS, developed with selected adsorbent, phytogenic and postbiotic materials, in piglets exposed to diets naturally contaminated with fumonisins, improves the health and performance of the animals after 42 days of weaning.
