Exposure to a Combination of Fusarium Mycotoxins Leads to Lipid Peroxidation and Influences Antioxidant Defenses, Fatty Acid Composition of Phospholipids, and Renal Histology in Laying Hens.

ABSTRACT

The effects of combined short-term (3 days) exposure to Fusarium mycotoxins at both the EU recommended limit (T-2/HT-2 toxin 0.25 mg/kg; DON/3-AcDON/15-AcDON 5 mg/kg; FB1 20 mg/kg) and twice the dose (T-2/HT-2 toxin 0.5 mg/kg, DON/3-AcDON/15-AcDON 10 mg/kg, and FB1 40 mg/kg feed) on the kidneys of laying hens were examined. Our study aimed to investigate how these mycotoxins interacted with membrane lipid fatty acid (FA) composition and lipid peroxidation processes. It was observed that the levels of conjugated dienes and trienes were higher than the control in the low-mix group on day 3, and malondialdehyde concentration was higher on days 2 and 3. The proportion of phospholipid (PL) FAs showed that saturated and monounsaturated FAs increased. Still, both n3 and n6 polyunsaturated FAs decreased significantly on day 2 of exposure in the high-mix group. Among the n3 FAs, the level of docosahexaenoic (C226 n3) and among n6 FAs, arachidonic (C204 n6) acids decreased mainly on day 2 in the high-mix group. The results suggest that the combined exposure to Fusarium mycotoxins induced lipid peroxidation in the kidneys of laying hens, which resulted in marked changes in the PL FA profile. Histological examination revealed time- and dose-dependent increases as consequences of mycotoxin exposure.