Overview of T-2 Toxin Enterotoxicity: From Toxic Mechanisms and Detoxification to Future Perspectives.

Fusarium species produce a secondary metabolite known as T-2 toxin, which is the primary and most harmful toxin found in type A trichothecenes. T-2 toxin is widely found in food and grain-based animal feed and endangers the health of both humans and animals. T-2 toxin exposure in humans and animals occurs primarily through food administration; therefore, the first organ that T-2 toxin targets is the gut. In this overview, the research progress, toxicity mechanism, and detoxification of the toxin T-2 were reviewed, and future research directions were proposed. T-2 toxin damages the intestinal mucosa and destroys intestinal structure and intestinal barrier function; furthermore, T-2 toxin disrupts the intestinal microbiota, causes intestinal flora disorders, affects normal intestinal metabolic function, and kills intestinal epidermal cells by inducing oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis. The primary harmful mechanism of T-2 toxin in the intestine is oxidative stress. Currently, selenium and plant extracts are mainly used to exert antioxidant effects to alleviate the enterotoxicity of T-2 toxin. In future studies, the use of genomic techniques to find upstream signaling molecules associated with T-2 enterotoxin toxicity will provide new ideas for the prevention of this toxicity. The purpose of this paper is to review the progress of research on the intestinal toxicity of T-2 toxin and propose new research directions for the prevention and treatment of T-2 toxin toxicity.

Effective protective agents against organ toxicity of deoxynivalenol and their detoxification mechanisms: A review.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most prevalent mycotoxins in feed, which causes organ toxicity in animals. Therefore, reducing DON-induced organ toxicity can now be accomplished effectively using protective agents. This review provides an overview of multiple studies on a wide range of protective agents and their molecular mechanisms against DON organ toxicity. Protective agents include plant extracts, yeast products, bacteria, peptides, enzymes, H2, oligosaccharides, amino acids, adsorbents, vitamins and selenium. Among these, biological detoxification of DON using microorganisms to reduce the toxicity of DON without affecting the growth performance of pigs may be the most promising detoxification strategy. This paper also evaluates future developments related to DON detoxification and discusses the detoxification role and application potential of protective agents. This paper provides new perspectives for future research and development of safe and effective feed additives.

Global distribution, toxicity to humans and animals, biodegradation, and nutritional mitigation of deoxynivalenol: A review.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the main types of B trichothecenes, and it causes health-related issues in humans and animals and imposes considerable challenges to food and feed safety globally each year. This review investigates the global hazards of DON, describes the occurrence of DON in food and feed in different countries, and systematically uncovers the mechanisms of the various toxic effects of DON. For DON pollution, many treatments have been reported on the degradation of DON, and each of the treatments has different degradation efficacies and degrades DON by a distinct mechanism. These treatments include physical, chemical, and biological methods and mitigation strategies. Biodegradation methods include microorganisms, enzymes, and biological antifungal agents, which are of great research significance in food processing because of their high efficiency, low environmental hazards, and drug resistance. And we also reviewed the mechanisms of biodegradation methods of DON, the adsorption and antagonism effects of microorganisms, and the different chemical transformation mechanisms of enzymes. Moreover, nutritional mitigation including common nutrients (amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and microelements) and plant extracts was discussed in this review, and the mitigation mechanism of DON toxicity was elaborated from the biochemical point of view. These findings help explore various approaches to achieve the best efficiency and applicability, overcome DON pollution worldwide, ensure the sustainability and safety of food processing, and explore potential therapeutic options with the ability to reduce the deleterious effects of DON in humans and animals.

[Single-laboratory Validation of an Analytical Method for Detarmination of Fusarium toxins in Buckwheat and Job's Tears].

Fusarium species infect the major cereals consumed as food and feed, contaminating them with various toxic secondary metabolites known as toxins. Among these toxins, which include trichothecenes, zearalenone (ZEA), and fumonisins, the type-B trichothecene deoxynivalenol (DON) is generally considered as the most important. The present study evaluates an analytical method for the detection and quantification of multiple Fusarium toxins, namely, DON, acetyl forms of DON (3-Ac-DON and 15-Ac-DON), a glycoside form of DON (DON-3G), and other Fusarium toxins (nivalenol, an acetyl form of NIV (fusarenonX), T-2 and HT-2 toxins, diacetoxyscirpenol, and ZEA) in Job's tears and buckwheat.

Metaproteomics Reveals Alteration of the Gut Microbiome in Weaned Piglets Due to the Ingestion of the Mycotoxins Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone.

The ingestion of mycotoxins can cause adverse health effects and represents a severe health risk to humans and livestock. Even though several acute and chronic effects have been described, the effect on the gut metaproteome is scarcely known. For that reason, we used metaproteomics to evaluate the effect of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) on the gut microbiome of 15 weaned piglets. Animals were fed for 28 days with feed contaminated with different concentrations of DON (DONlow: 870 µg DON/kg feed, DONhigh: 2493 µg DON/kg feed) or ZEN (ZENlow: 679 µg ZEN/kg feed, ZENhigh: 1623 µg ZEN/kg feed). Animals in the control group received uncontaminated feed. The gut metaproteome composition in the high toxin groups shifted compared to the control and low mycotoxin groups, and it was also more similar among high toxin groups. These changes were accompanied by the increase in peptides belonging to Actinobacteria and a decrease in peptides belonging to Firmicutes. Additionally, DONhigh and ZENhigh increased the abundance of proteins associated with the ribosomes and pentose-phosphate pathways, while decreasing glycolysis and other carbohydrate metabolism pathways. Moreover, DONhigh and ZENhigh increased the abundance of the antioxidant enzyme thioredoxin-dependent peroxiredoxin. In summary, the ingestion of DON and ZEN altered the abundance of different proteins associated with microbial metabolism, genetic processing, and oxidative stress response, triggering a disruption in the gut microbiome structure.

Structure and cytotoxicity of trichothecenes produced by the potato-associated fungus Trichothecium crotocinigenum.

Seven previously undescribed trichothecenes, named trichothecrotocins M-S (1-7), along with five known compounds, were isolated from rice cultures of the potato-associated fungus Trichothecium crotocinigenum. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined through spectroscopic methods, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and quantum chemistry calculations on ECD. Compound 1 possesses a rare 6,11-epoxy moiety in the trichothecene family. Compound 6 exhibited strong cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cancer cell lines with an IC50 value of 2.34 ± 0.45 µM. It promoted apoptosis induction in MCF-7 cells. Moreover, cell cycle analysis showed cell cycle arrest caused by compound 6 at the G2/M phase which resulted to cell proliferation inhibition and pro-apoptotic activity. Further quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis confirmed that the G2/M arrest was accompanied by upregulation of p21 and down regulation of cyclins B1 in 6-treated MCF-7 cells.

Effect of cereal products supplementation with american blueberries, cranberries and cinnamon on the formation of type A and B trichothecenes group.

INTRODUCTION: Mycotoxins - secondary mould metabolites with undesirable effects for humans - are common in the environment. These toxins are mainly produced by fungi of the genera Penicilium, Aspergillus and Fusarium. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of various sources of antioxidants (blueberries lyophilisate, cranberries lyophilisate and cinnamon powder), at 5 different concentrations (3%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%), to inhibit the formation of mycotoxins during the storage of cereal products. Analysed cereal samples included selected cereal grains, bran and cereal products intended for consumption by children. RESULTS: The results showed that supplementation of oat brans with the highest concentrations of blueberry lyophilisate resulted in a significant decrease in the mycotoxins levels; specifically: 20% concentration reduced the level of HT-2 toxin by 10.7% in one sample, while 30% concentration reduced it by 9.4% and 17.4% in 2 other samples. A similar result was measured for oat bran samples supplemented with the cranberry lyophilisate: specifically, 20% concentration significantly reduced the level of HT-2 toxin by 10.6% in one sample, while 30% concentration reduced it by an average of 18.0% ± 6,0% in 5 other samples. Finally, cinnamon powder supplementation caused a significant reduction in HT-2 levels in all stored samples, even at its lowest concentration. 30% supplementation resulted in HT-2 reduction in cereal samples by 67.1% - 76.1%, in wheat bran samples by 57.5% - 69.2%, in oat bran samples by 83.4% - 87.0% and by 55.0% - 100% in samples of cereal products intended for consumption by children. CONCLUSIONS: Natural products used in the experiment (blueberry, cranberry, cinnamon) inhibited the formation of mycotoxins from the group of trichothecenes.

High voltage atmospheric cold plasma treatment inactivates Aspergillus flavus spores and deoxynivalenol toxin.

Fungal contamination is a concern for the food industry. Fungal spores resist food sterilization treatments and produce mycotoxins that are toxic for animals and humans. Technologies that deactivate spores and toxins without impacting food quality are desirable. This study demonstrates the efficiency of a high voltage atmospheric cold plasma (HVACP) technology using air to generate reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species for the degradation of Aspergillus flavus cultures and the deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin. Optical emission and absorption spectroscopy demonstrate ionization of hydroxyl groups, atomic oxygen and nitrogen, and confirm production of ROS and RNS, e.g. O3, NO2, NO3, N2O4, and N2O5. Fungal cultures show a depletion in pigmentation and an ~50% spore inactivation after 1-min treatments. Treated spores show surface ablation and membrane degradation by scanning electron microscopy. Twenty-minute direct HVACP treatments of 100 µg of DON in one mL aqueous suspensions resulted in a greater than 99% reduction in DON structure and rescued over 80% of Caco-2 cell viability; however, the same treatment on 100 µg of powdered DON toxin only showed a 33% reduction in DON and only rescued 15% of cell viability. In summary, HVACP air treatment can inactivate both fungal spores and toxins in minutes.

The Effects of Selenium on Wheat Fusarium Head Blight and DON Accumulation Were Selenium Compound-Dependent.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum not only results in severe yield losses, but also contaminates wheat grains with deoxynivalenol (DON) toxins. Prevention and control of FHB and DON contamination rely mainly on resistant varieties and fungicides. Selenium (Se) is an essential element for humans and animals, and also a beneficial element for plants. In this work, four Se compounds, i.e., sodium selenite (Na2SeO3), sodium selenate (Na2SeO4), selenomethionine (SeMet) and selenocysteine (SeCys2), were supplemented in a trichothecene biosynthesis induction (TBI) solid medium at different dosages in in vitro experiments. The four Se compounds at the dosage of 20 mg∙L-1 were sprayed onto wheat spikes immediately after inoculation at anthesis. All four of the Se compounds significantly inhibited the mycelial growth and DON production in the in vitro experiment; however, in planta, their effects on FHB severity and toxin accumulation in grains were compound-dependent. SeMet consistently negatively regulated fungal growth and DON accumulation both in vitro and in planta, which could be a novel and proconsumer strategy for reducing the detriment of wheat FHB disease and DON accumulation.

Zearalenone and Metabolites in Livers of Turkey Poults and Broiler Chickens Fed with Diets Containing Fusariotoxins.

Zearalenone (ZEN) and metabolites were measured in livers of turkeys and broilers fed a control diet free of mycotoxins, a diet that contained 0.5 mg/kg ZEN (ZEN diet), and a diet that contained 0.5, 5, and 20 mg/kg of ZEN, fumonisins, and deoxynivalenol, respectively (ZENDONFB diet). The feed was individually distributed to male Grade Maker turkeys from the 55th to the 70th day of age and to male Ross chickens from the 1st to the 35th day of age, without any signs of toxicity. Together, the free and conjugated forms of ZEN, α- and ß-zearalenols (ZOLs), zearalanone (ZAN), and α- and ß-zearalanols (ZALs) were measured by UHPLC-MS/MS with [13C18]-ZEN as an internal standard and immunoaffinity clean-up of samples. ZAN and ZALs were not detected. ZEN and ZOLs were mainly found in their conjugated forms. α-ZOL was the most abundant and was found at a mean concentration of 2.23 and 1.56 ng/g in turkeys and chickens, respectively. Consuming the ZENDONFB diet significantly increased the level of total metabolites in the livers of chickens. Furthermore, this increase was more pronounced for the free forms of α-ZOL than for the conjugated forms. An investigation of the presence of ZEN and metabolites in muscle with the methods validated for the liver failed to reveal any traces of these contaminants in this tissue. These results suggest that concomitant dietary exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FB) may alter the metabolism and persistence of ZEN and its metabolites in the liver.

Clove oil-in-water nanoemulsion: Mitigates growth of Fusarium graminearum and trichothecene mycotoxin production during the malting of Fusarium infected barley.

Fusarium mycotoxin contamination in malting barley is of great concerns in malting industry. Our recent study found that clove oil nanoemulsions can act as highly efficient antifungal agents in vitro. Therefore, we explored the efficacy of clove oil nanoemulsions on Fusarium growth and mycotoxin during malting process. The impact of emulsifier types (Tween 80, BSA and quillaja saponins) on the formation of clove oil nanoemulsion, the mitigation effects on mycotoxin levels and fungal biomass, and the clove oil flavor residues on malts were measured. We observed that 1.5 mg clove oil/g nanoemulsion showed a negligible influence on germinative energy of barley, while still efficiently eliminated the DON levels and toxicogenic fungal biomass as quantified by Tri5 DNA content. Tween 80-stablized clove oil nanoemulsion displayed higher mycotoxin inhibitory activity and less flavor impact on the final malt. The results indicated the potential application of essential oil nanoemulsion during the malting process.

Effects of deoxynivalenol and sodium meta-bisulphite on nutrient digestibility in growing pigs.

Deoxynivalenol (DON), a mycotoxin synthesised by the Fusarium, is known to affect the growth of pigs. This effect can be attenuated with sodium meta-bisulphite (SBS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of SBS with antioxidant blend on nutrient digestibility in pigs fed a diet contaminated naturally with DON. Six crossbred castrated pigs fitted surgically with single-T cannulas in the distal ileum received one of four barley-corn-soybean diets with or without SBS. After 8 d of feeding, faeces and ileal digesta were collected for 2 d. Apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of the dry matter (DM), energy, nutrients and DON, and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of DM, acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), energy and DON were evaluated. The AID of phosphorus, calcium and some amino acids was increased (p < 0.05) in the DON diets whereas the ATTD of DM and energy tended to decrease (p = 0.064 and p = 0.071). SBS reduced the AID of DM, energy, ADF, ether extract, phosphorus and DON (p < 0.05) but had no effect on the ATTD of DM, energy, fibre or DON. These results show that DON improved the AID of some nutrients but tended to reduce the ATTD of energy, which could explain, although anorexia is the main effect of DON on live weight gain, the reported negative effect of DON on pig growth. Finally, SBS with antioxidant blend had reduced AID of some nutrients and intestinal absorption of DON.

Exploring Ecological Alternatives for Crop Protection Using Coriandrum sativum Essential Oil.

Essential oils (EOs) are a natural source of active compounds with antifungal, antimycotoxigenic, and herbicidal potential, and have been successfully used in organic agriculture, instead of chemical compounds obtained by synthesis, due to their high bioactivity and the absence of toxicity. The aim of this study was to highlight the importance of Coriandrum sativum essential oil (CEO) as a potential source of bioactive constituents and its applications as an antifungal and bioherbicidal agent. The CEO was obtained by steam distillation of coriander seeds and GC-MS technique was used to determine the chemical composition. Furthermore, in vitro tests were used to determine the antifungal potential of CEO on Fusarium graminearum mycelia growth through poisoned food technique, resulting in the minimum fungistatic (MCFs) and fungicidal concentrations (MCFg). The antifungal and antimycotoxigenic effect of CEO was studied on artificially contaminated wheat seeds with F. graminearum spores. Additionally, the herbicidal potential of CEO was studied by fumigating monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous weed seeds, which are problematic in agricultural field crops in Romania. The in vitro studies showed the antifungal potential of CEO, with a minimum concentration for a fungistatic effect of 0.4% and the minimum fungicidal concentration of 0.6%, respectively. An increase in the antifungal effects was observed in the in vivo experiment with F. graminearum, where a mixture of CEO with Satureja hortensis essential oil (SEO) was used. This increase is attributed to the synergistic effect of both EOs. Moreover, the synthesis of deoxynivalenol (DON)-type mycotoxins was found to be less inhibited. Hence, CEO has shown an herbicidal potential on weed seeds by affecting inhibition of germination.

Acetylsalicylic acid treatment reduce Fusarium rot development and neosolaniol accumulation in muskmelon fruit.

Fusarium rot of muskmelon is a common and frequently-occurring postharvest disease, which leads to quality deterioration and neosolaniol (NEO) contamination. New strategies to control postharvest decay and reduce NEO contamination are of paramount importance. The effects of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) treatment on the growth of Fusarium sulphureum in vitro, and Fusarium rot development and NEO accumulation in fruits inoculated with F. sulphureum in vivo were investigated. The results showed that ASA inhibited the growth of F. sulphureum, evident morphological and major cellular changes were observed under the microscope. In vivo testing showed that 3.2 mg/mL ASA significantly suppressed Fusarium rot development and NEO accumulation after 6 and 8 d of pathogen inoculation. Meanwhile, Tri gene expressions involved in NEO biosynthesis were down-regulated after treatment. Taken together, ASA treatment not only reduced Fusarium rot development by inhibiting the growth of F. sulphureum, but decreased NEO accumulation by suppressing NEO biosynthesis pathway.

The potential effects of antioxidant feed additives in mitigating the adverse effects of corn naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on antioxidant systems in the intestinal mucosa, plasma, and liver in weaned pigs.

Seventy-two piglets (6.0 kg BW) were randomly distributed within six different dietary treatments to evaluate the effect of deoxynivalenol (DON) and the potential of four antioxidant feed additives in mitigating the adverse effects of DON on growth performances and oxidative status. Dietary treatments were as follows: control diet 0.8 mg/kg DON; contaminated diet (DON-contaminated diet) 3.1 mg/kg DON; and four contaminated diets, each supplemented with a different antioxidant feed additive, DON + vitamins, DON + organic selenium (Se)/glutathione (GSH), DON + quercetin, and DON + COMB (vitamins + Se/GSH + quercetin from the other treatments). Although DON was the main mycotoxin in the contaminated diet, this diet also contained 1.8 mg/kg of zearalenone (ZEN). The "mycotoxin" effects therefore included the combined effect of these two mycotoxins, DON, and ZEN. The DON-ZEN ingestion did not affect growth performances, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed efficiency (G:F ratio), but partially induced oxidative stress in weaned pigs as shown by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the plasma and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in liver (P < 0.05). However, no change in the activity of other antioxidant enzymes or GSH concentrations was observed in plasma and liver of piglets fed the DON-contaminated diet (P > 0.05). Supplementation with individual antioxidant feed additive had a limited effect in weaned pigs fed DON-ZEN-contaminated diets. Combination of antioxidants (vitamins A, C, and E, quercetin, and organic Se/GSH) reduced plasma and liver MDA content and SOD activity in liver (P < 0.05) of piglets fed DON-ZEN-contaminated diets. Furthermore, this combination also reduced MDA content in the ileum (P < 0.05), although activity of glutathione peroxidases (GPx), SOD or catalase (CAT) in the ileum was not affected by DON-ZEN contamination or antioxidant supplements. In conclusion, DON-ZEN contamination induced oxidative stress in weaned pigs and combination of antioxidant feed additives restored partially the oxidative status. Further studies will be necessary to assess whether the effects of antioxidant feed additives on oxidative status are specific when feed is contaminated with DON-ZEN.

Fusarium head blight control and prevention of mycotoxin contamination in wheat with botanicals and tannic acid.

Suspensions or solutions with 1% of Chinese galls (Galla chinensis, GC) or 1% of tannic acid (TA), inhibited germination of conidia or mycelium growth of Fusarium graminearum (FG) by 98%-100% or by 75%-80%, respectively, whereas dried bark from buckthorn (Frangula alnus, FA) showed no effect at this concentration. In climate chamber experiments where the wheat variety "Apogee" was artificially inoculated with FG and F. crookwellense (FCr) and treated with 5% suspensions of TA, GC and FA, the deoxynivalenol (DON) content in grains was reduced by 81%, 67% and 33%, respectively. In field experiments with two commercial wheat varieties and artificial or semi-natural inoculations, mean DON reductions of 66% (TA) and 58% (FA), respectively, were obtained. Antifungal toxicity can explain the high efficacies of TA and GC but not those of FA. The Fusarium head blight (FHB) and mycotoxin reducing effect of FA is probably due to elicitation of resistance in wheat plants. With semi-natural inoculation, a single FA application in the first half of the flowering period performed best. However, we assume that applications of FA at the end of ear emergence and a treatment, triggered by an infection period, with TA or GC during flowering, might perform better than synthetic fungicides.

New method for the simultaneous analysis of types A and B trichothecenes by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry in potato tubers inoculated with Fusarium sulphureum.

A reliable and sensitive method for rapid simultaneous determination of two type A (T-2 and diacetoxyscirpenol) and two type B (3-acetyldeoxynivalenol and Fusarenon X) trichothecenes was developed and successfully applied for detecting trichothecenes in potato tubers by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The established method was further evaluated by determining the linearity (R ≥ 0.9995), recovery (113.28-77.97%), precision (relative standard deviation ≤ 5.89), and sensitivity (limit of detection, 0.002-0.005 µg/g; limit of quantitation, 0.005-0.015 µg/g). The method proved to be suitable for simultaneous determination of T-2, diacetoxyscirpenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, and Fusarenon X in potato tubers inoculated with Fusarium sulphureum . In addition, it was found that T-2, diacetoxyscirpenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, and Fusarenon X could be predominantly detected in the lesion, and the toxin could also be identified in tubers without any disease symptoms. The experimental results also indicated that the concentration of toxin in the susceptible cultivar (Longshu No. 3) was significantly higher than that in the resistant cultivar (Longshu No. 6).

The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus irregulare, controls the mycotoxin production of Fusarium sambucinum in the pathogenesis of potato.

Trichothecenes are an important family of mycotoxins produced by several species of the genus Fusarium. These fungi cause serious disease on infected plants and postharvest storage of crops, and the toxins can cause health problems for humans and animals. Unfortunately, there are few methods for controlling mycotoxin production by fungal pathogens, and most rely on chemicals, creating therefore subsequent problems of chemical resistance. We tested the impact of the symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus irregulare on a trichothecene-producing strain of Fusarium sambucinum isolated from naturally infected potato plants. Using dual in vitro cultures, we showed that G. irregulare inhibited the growth of F. sambucinum and significantly reduced the production of the trichothecene 4, 15-diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS). Furthermore, using G. irregulare-colonized potato plants infected with F. sambucinum, we found that the G. irregulare treatment inhibited the production of DAS in roots and tubers. Thus, in addition to the known beneficial effect of mycorrhizal symbiosis on plant growth, we found that G. irregulare controlled the growth of a virulent fungal pathogen and reduced production of a mycotoxin. This previously undescribed, biological control of Fusarium mycotoxin production by G. irregulare has potential implications for improved potato crop production and food safety.

Formulation of a pectin gel that efficiently traps mycotoxin deoxynivalenol and reduces its bioavailability.

We aimed to develop a new food-processing approach using pectin to reduce gastrointestinal absorption of mycotoxins. When Ca(2+) is added to low-methoxyl pectin, a gel resembling an egg box-like structure forms that is able to trap certain molecules. We examined whether or not low-methoxyl amidated pectin (LMA) and low-methoxyl non-amidated pectin (LMNA) trapped the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) after being ingested. We first determined the trapping effects of LMA and LMNA on DON in vitro under conditions similar to those in the human stomach, with results showing that LMA gel trapped DON to a greater extent than the LMNA gel. We then performed in vivo experiments and demonstrated that the LMA gel containing DON reduced DON's absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. This new food-processing technique holds great promise for reducing the bioavailability of DON in contaminated food and may be useful in mitigating the effects of other mycotoxins.

Fusarium graminearum infection and deoxynivalenol concentrations during development of wheat spikes.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) affects whole spikes of small grain plants, yet little is known about how FHB develops following infection, or about the concentration or progression of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in non-grain spike tissues. Fusarium mycotoxin levels in whole small-grain spikes are of concern to producers of whole-crop silage, as well as users of straw containing chaff for animal bedding or winter livestock rations. A 2-year field experiment was performed in Kinston, NC to reveal the time course of FHB development. Eight winter wheat cultivars with varying levels of FHB resistance were used in the 2006 experiment, and four of them were used in 2007. Plots were spray-inoculated with Fusarium graminearum macroconidia at mid-anthesis. Four durations of post-anthesis mist were applied: 0, 10, 20, or 30 days. Spike samples were collected and bulked by plot at 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, and 65 days after anthesis (daa); samples were separated into grain, glume, and rachis fractions. Increasing durations of post-anthesis moisture elevated grain DON and reduced the effect of cultivar on DON, presumably by affecting the expression of resistance, in all spike tissues. Fusarium-damaged kernels increased from early kernel-hard to harvest-ripe in both years. Percent infected kernels increased from medium-milk to harvest-ripe. During grainfill, DON concentrations declined in grain but increased in rachises and glumes, peaking at early kernel-hard, before declining. Higher mean and maximum DON levels were observed in rachises and glumes than in grain. Estimated whole-spike DON peaked at early kernel-hard. In a high-FHB year, whole-plant harvest for forage should be conducted as early as possible. Straw that may be consumed by livestock could contain significant amounts of DON in chaff, and DON can be minimized if straw is sourced from low-symptom crops. Cultivar FHB resistance ratings and disease data should be useful in predicting whole-spike DON levels. Overall, associations between grain DON levels in harvest-ripe and prior samples were stronger the later the prior samples were collected, suggesting limits to the possibility of predicting harvest-ripe grain DON from earlier levels.