Fusariotoxin transfer in animal

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2005.08.021Get rights and content

Abstract

Mycotoxin fusariotoxins, essentially represented by trichothecenes, zearalenone and fumonisins, are widely scattered in cereals and their products. Human and animals are particularly concerned by toxicity consecutive to oral chronic exposure. Human exposure can be direct via cereals or indirect via products of animals having eaten contaminated feed. As this alimentary risk is considered as a major problem in public health, it is thus of great importance to determine bioavailability, metabolic pathways and distribution of these mycotoxins in animal and human organism. Most studies indicate that fusariotoxins can be rapidly absorbed in the small intestine but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Except NIV, fusariotoxins can be partly metabolised into more hydrophilic molecules in digestive tract or liver. Fumonisins present different behaviour as they seem very few and slowly absorbed and metabolised. The main part of absorbed fusariotoxins shows a rapid elimination within 24 h after ingestion, followed by a slower excretion of small amounts. However, traces of fusariotoxins or their derivates can be found in animal products. This manuscript, reviewing literature published on fusariotoxin transfer, highlights that too little data are available to correctly appreciate fusariotoxin transfer in organism. Further studies focusing on mechanisms involved in the transfer are needed before clarifying risk assessment for human health.

Introduction

Fusariotoxins are secondary metabolites from certain species of the Fusarium genus, a soil moisture which probably produces the most important quantity of toxin in temperate north countries (North America, Europe or Asia) (Fig. 1) (Placinta et al., 1999, Quillien, 2002). The most detected fusariotoxins are trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV) T-2 and HT-2 toxins, etc.) zearalenone (ZEA), and fumonisins B (FB) (Fig. 1) (Yoshizawa and Jin, 1995, Ryu et al., 1996, Muller et al., 1997, Muller et al., 1998, Kpodo et al., 2000, Muller et al., 2001, Rasmussen et al., 2003, Schollenberger et al., 2005). Presence of other fusariotoxins, as moniliformin (Krysinska-Traczyk et al., 2001) or culmorin (Ghebremeskel and Langseth, 2001), is only rarely reported so they will not be evoked here.

In spite of prevention efforts, crop contamination is often inevitable (Birzele et al., 2000, Edwards, 2004, Schrödter, 2004). Furthermore, fusariotoxins are very resistant molecules and it is today really difficult to decontaminate a crop (Aziz et al., 1997, McKenzie et al., 1997, Yumbe-Guevara et al., 2003). Fusariotoxins are commonly found in cereals and their products, stuffs constituting an important part of human food and animal feed. Highly contaminated crops are frequently directed to animal feed (Miraglia et al., 1996, Bennett and Klich, 2003, Sudakin, 2003). Main animal and human exposure comes from chronic contaminated food ingestion but human exposure can be direct via cereals or indirect via animal products.

Cereal contamination by fusariotoxins, effects on animal health and consequent economic loss have been well described in literature (Eriksen and Pettersson, 2004) and recent studies focus on prevention strategies and control of moisture development at the levels of field and storage (Quillien, 2002). However, fusariotoxin transfer in human or animal organism and the possible presence of toxic residues in animal products (milk, meat, etc.) remain unclear. Furthermore, authors implicate absorption and metabolism rates in differences of sensibility among animals (Hedman et al., 1997). The mechanisms involved in fusariotoxin absorption, biotransformation, excretion, etc. are only partly described but appear necessary to risk assessment. This review focuses on studies which help to understand fusariotoxin future in the organism, for animals but also for humans, and to determine the possible contamination of animal products.

Section snippets

Absorption

Gastrointestinal absorption governs toxin passage to blood and their organism distribution.

Metabolism

Identification of enzymatic systems potentially metabolising fusariotoxins and knowledge of events involved are needed to understand their organism transfer as metabolism especially modify their physicochemical properties. Fusariotoxin metabolism can notably happen in liver but also in digestive tract and more particularly in rumen for ruminants.

Organism distribution

As fusariotoxins are hydrosoluble, they are generally weakly accumulated in animal tissues (Turner et al., 1999).

Conclusion

Risk assessment, based on exposure and danger evaluation, needs to take into account fusariotoxin transfer in the organism, and has to evaluate every contamination sources (Kuiper-Goodman, 1990). Although many fusariotoxins are ubiquitous and toxic, they globally present a potential danger for animal and human health only when they are absorbed in great amounts or during long time exposure. It is then of great interest to develop studies focusing on fusariotoxin absorption, metabolism, or

References (82)

  • G.S. Eriksen et al.

    Toxicological evaluation of trichothecenes in animal feed

    Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.

    (2004)
  • H.S. Hussein et al.

    Toxicity, metabolism and impact of mycotoxins on humans and animals

    Toxicology

    (2001)
  • K. Kpodo et al.

    Fusaria and fumonisins in maize from Ghana and their co-occurrence with aflatoxins

    Int. J. Food Microbiol.

    (2000)
  • B.G. Lake et al.

    Studies on the metabolism of deoxynivalenol in the rat

    Food Chem. Toxicol.

    (1987)
  • J.C. Larsen et al.

    Workshop on trichothecenes with a focus on DON: summary report

    Toxicol. Lett.

    (2004)
  • K.S. McKenzie et al.

    Oxidative degradation and detoxification of mycotoxins using a novel source of ozone

    Food Chem. Toxicol.

    (1997)
  • F.A. Meky et al.

    Development of a urinary biomarker of human exposure to deoxynivalenol

    Food Chem. Toxicol.

    (2003)
  • M. Miraglia et al.

    Application of biomarkers of risk to human health from exposure to mycotoxins

    Microchem. J.

    (1996)
  • D.B. Prelusky et al.

    Tissue distribution and excretion of radioactivity following administration of 14C-labeled deoxynivalenol to White Lenghorn hens

    Fund. Applied Toxicol.

    (1986)
  • D.B. Prelusky et al.

    Excretion profiles of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, following oral and intravenous administration to sheep

    Fund. Appl. Toxicol.

    (1986)
  • D.B. Prelusky et al.

    Pharmacokinetic fate of 14C-labeled deoxynivalenol in swine

    Fund. Appl. Toxicol.

    (1988)
  • C.M. Placinta et al.

    A review of worldwide contamination of cereal grains and animal feed with Fusarium mycotoxins

    Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.

    (1999)
  • A. Poapolathep et al.

    Development of early apoptosis and changes in lymphocyte subsets in lymphoid organs of mice orally inoculated with nivalenol

    Exp. Mol. Pathol.

    (2003)
  • A. Poapolathep et al.

    The fates of trichothecene mycotoxins, nivalenol and fusarenon-X, in mice

    Toxicon

    (2003)
  • A. Poapolathep et al.

    Placental and milk transmission of trichothecene mycotoxins, nivalenol and fusarenon-X, in mice

    Toxicon

    (2004)
  • J. Raiman et al.

    Effects of calcium on transport of clodronate and its esters through Caco-2 cells

    Int. J. Pharm.

    (2001)
  • A.J. Ramos et al.

    Intestinal absorption of zearalenone and in vitro study of non-nutritive sorbent materials

    Int. J. Pharm.

    (1996)
  • M. Schollenberger et al.

    Trichothecene toxins in different groups of conventional and organic bread of the German market

    J. Food Comp. Anal.

    (2005)
  • R. Schrödter

    Influence of harvest and storage conditions on trichothecenes levels in various cereal

    Toxicol. Lett.

    (2004)
  • B.J. Shreeve et al.

    The carry-over of aflatoxin, ochratoxin and zearalenone from naturally contaminated feed to tissues, urine and milk of dairy cows

    Food Cosmet. Toxicol.

    (1979)
  • D.L. Sudakin

    Trichothecenes in the environment: relevance to human health

    Toxicol. Lett.

    (2003)
  • S.P. Swanson et al.

    Metabolism of three trichothecene mycotoxins, T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol and deoxynivalenol, by bovine rumen microorganisms

    J. Chromatogr.: Biol. Appl.

    (1987)
  • S.P. Swanson et al.

    The role of intestinal microflora in the metabolism of trichothecene mycotoxins

    Food Chem. Toxicol.

    (1988)
  • P.C. Turner et al.

    Fumonisin contamination of food: progress in development of biomarkers to better assess human health risks

    Mut. Res.

    (1999)
  • S. Yamashita et al.

    Optimized conditions for prediction of intestinal drug permeability using Caco-2 cells

    Eur. J. Pharm. Sci.

    (2000)
  • N.H. Aziz et al.

    Effect of gamma-irradiation on the natural occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins in wheat, flour and bread

    Nahrung

    (1997)
  • J.W. Bennett et al.

    Mycotoxins

    Clin. Microbiol. Rev.

    (2003)
  • J. Baur

    The metabolism of trichothecenes in swine

    Dtsch. Tierarztl. Wochesnchr.

    (1995)
  • J. Bauer et al.

    Kinetic profiles of diacetoxyscirpenol and two of its metabolites in blood serum of pigs

    Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

    (1985)
  • B. Birzele et al.

    Deoxynivalenol and ochratoxin A in German wheat and changes of levels in relation to storage parameters

    Food Addit. Contam.

    (2000)
  • S. Danicke et al.

    On the toxicokinetics and the metabolism of deoxynivalenol DON in the pig

    Arch. Anim. Nutr.

    (2004)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text