An impact of Deoxynivalenol produced by Fusarium graminearum on broiler chickens

Summary Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a major mycotoxin from the trichothecene family of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium fungi that cause disease in grains. Food and feed contaminated with DON cause a variety of adverse health effects in humans and farm animals. However, the fermentation conditions of DON for toxicological study remain to be optimised. Deoxynivalenol levels were increased in a constant temperature of 20°C after fermentation for 7 and 14 days compared with cycling temperatures between 10–20°C and 15–20°C. We have established that optimum conditions for DON production on rice‐based medium is constant temperature at 20°C. In feeding experiments, the villus height and the ratio of villus height and crypt depth were reduced in the duodenum of DON‐fed broiler chickens, whereas a mycotoxin degradation agent efficiently reversed the abnormal morphology of the small intestine in the DON‐fed broilers. The expression of pro‐inflammatory gene, COX‐2, was induced in the spleen and bursa of Fabricius of DON‐fed broilers. This effect was alleviated in the presence of mycotoxin degradation agent. DON produced in solid‐state fermentation is able to cause toxic effects in broilers and induce an abnormal morphology of the small intestine, particularly the duodenum.