Mycotoxin-contaminated feed or food can affect physiological responses and cause illnesses in humans and animals. In this study, we evaluated the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) toxicity on the growth performance, blood biochemistry, histology, microbiome, and metabolism of rats fed with different toxin concentrations. After 1 week of acclimatization, seven-week-old male rats received 0.9% saline as a control, 0.02 mg/kg DON as T1, and 0.2 mg/kg DON as T2 via oral gavage for 4 weeks. The final body weight of the T2 group was significantly lower than that of the control and T1; however, the average daily gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio did not differ. Fibrosis and apoptosis were observed in various tissues as DON concentration increased. Creatinine and alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly lower in the DON-treated group than in the control. Firmicutes and Desulfobacterota phyla dominated the cecum, whereas those in the feces were Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Metabolomic profiling showed phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis as the most prominent pathways. Overall, our results suggest that low-dose and short-term DON exposure can trigger several adverse effects in rats. Dietary toxicants in rats may explain the physiological effects associated with the metabolism commonly reported in animals.

Food Science of Animal Resources (Food Sci. Anim. Resour.) is an international, peer-reviewed bimonthly journal publishing original research and reviews on basic and applied aspects of the use of animal resources including the meat, egg, dairy, and edible insect/worm products. Food Sci. Anim. Resour. is published and distributed by the Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.

Traditionally, pig farms have frequently used antibiotics to enhance disease resistance. However, the frequent use of antibiotics has led to various issues, including public health concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, prompting stricter regulations on antibiotic use. Consequently, there is a need to develop immune-modulatory substances to replace antibiotics and enhance immunity in piglets. In this study, changes in the immune status of piglets were examined by adding immune-modulatory substances (Parachlorella spp., Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. tolerans, and trifoliate orange peel extract) to their feed. Over a period of 4 weeks, the addition of these immune-modulatory substances showed no significant effects on feed efficiency and feed intake. Furthermore, there were no significant effects on the blood metabolic parameters and blood cell counts of the piglets. all the immune-modulatory substances used in this study did not significantly affect the morphological changes in the jejunal tissue of the piglets. However, the addition of trifoliate orange peel extract to piglet feed resulted in an increase in both the inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-2 and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 compared to the control group. These results suggest that the addition of trifoliate orange peel extract to piglet feed may affect the immune development of piglets. Additionally, the observed decrease in specific Prevotella and increase in Oxalobacter imply that the addition of trifoliate orange peel extract to piglet feed may help gut health in piglets. Collectively, the results of this study suggest that the addition of trifoliate orange peel extract can improve gut health in piglets and serve as a safe feed additive without adverse effects on the animals.

한국가금학회지(The Journal of Curriculum Evaluation)

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of reducing dietary crude protein (CP) by 1%-unit and supplementing with three graded levels of lysine (Lys) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, nitrogen utilization, and blood parameters in finishing pigs. Four dietary treatments were used, consisting of a control diet containing 14% CP and 0.91% Lys and three different diets containing 13% CP with graded Lys levels of 0.91, 0.98, and 1.06%, respectively. Two experiments were conducted using the same dietary treatments. In the feeding trial, 48 pigs (initial body weight [BW]: 85 ± 5 kg) were assigned to four treatments in a 35-day trial (3 pigs/pen). In the metabolic trial, 12 pigs were allocated to four metabolic cages (3 pigs/treatment) for a 7-days trial. In the feeding trial, reducing dietary CP improved gain-to-feed ratio (p < 0.001), with the best results observed in pigs fed 13% CP diets containing 0.98% and 1.06% Lys. However, dressing rate decreased as dietary Lys concentration increased (p = 0.011). In the metabolic trial, weight gain improved linearly with increasing dietary Lys (p = 0.044). Meanwhile, reducing dietary CP by 1%-unit significantly decreased retained nitrogen (p = 0.038) and absorbed nitrogen (p = 0.005). The blood glucose concentration increased linearly (p = 0.018) as dietary Lys concentration increased, whereas the number of neutrophils showed a quadratic increase in response to dietary Lys levels (p = 0.029). These findings suggest that reducing dietary CP by 1%-unit, when accompanied by appropriate Lys supplementation, can maintain or even improve growth performance and nitrogen utilization in finishing pigs without negatively affecting carcass weight and meat quality.

This study evaluated reduced dietary crude protein (CP) with graded methionine (Met) supplementation in growing and finishing pigs. In each phase, 48 crossbred barrows were assigned to four treatments with four replicate pens per treatment and three pigs per pen. The growing and finishing trials lasted 43 and 50 d, respectively. Growing pigs received CON (16% CP, 0.37% Met) or low-CP diets (15% CP) with 0.37%, 0.41%, or 0.44% Met; finishing pigs received CON (14% CP, 0.27% Met) or low-CP diets (13% CP) with 0.27%, 0.30%, or 0.32% Met. Nitrogen excretion and apparent total tract digestibility of nitrogen were assessed through metabolism trials. Serum biochemical parameters were analyzed at the end of each phase, and untargeted ¹H-NMR-based serum metabolomic analysis was performed in finishing pigs. Most growth performance variables, nitrogen excretion, and nitrogen digestibility were not significantly affected by treatment, whereas selected blood urea nitrogen concentrations were reduced in low-CP diets with Met supplementation. Serum metabolomic profiling suggested exploratory shifts in energy-related metabolites. Overall, these findings suggest that a one-percentage-point reduction in dietary CP with Met supplementation can maintain overall pig performance while inducing selected nitrogen-related biochemical and metabolic responses under the conditions of this study.