A preliminary examination of potential interactions between deoxynivalenol (DON) and other selected Fusarium metabolites in growing pigs

The performance of growing pigs fed 2 mg kg −1 of one of several Fusarium graminearum metabolites (sambucinol, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, culmorin, dihydroxycalonectrin) with and without 6 mg kg −1 deoxynivalenol (DON) was examined in three preliminary studies. The only significant effects (P < 0.05) were seen in feed consumption, weight gain and feed efficiency due to the presence of DON in the diet. In addition, the appearance and degree of folding of the esophageal portion of the stomach were also different between pigs fed the DON-free and DON-contaminated diets, though the degree of significance varied between trials. Some small differences were seen in growth and feed consumption for certain metabolites, notably sambucinol and culmorin, with and without DON, but they were not significant (P > 0.05). The data indicate that, at the dietary concentrations used, the fungal metabolites tested in combination with DON do not interact with DON in growing pigs to any marked degree. Key words: Deoxynivalenol, DON, pigs, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, culmorin, sambucinol, dihydroxycalonectrin