Highly deoxynivalenol contaminated oats and immune function in horses.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of deoxynivalenol (DON) on cellular and humoral immune parameters in horses. A feeding trial using naturally contaminated oats with high (20.2 mg/kg) and low (0.49 mg/kg) levels of DON was conducted. Two groups of five mares were fed 2 kg oats daily with high or low DON levels for two weeks, using a crossover design with a three-week wash-out period. No adverse effects on general health were observed. Only minor diet-related changes in differential blood counts and serum biochemistry were noted. Serum haptoglobin concentration was significantly elevated after feeding DON (p = 0.04). Lymphocyte subsets (CD4+ CD8+, CD2+, CD21+, MHCII+) and lymphocyte proliferation data (concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen) were not different between feeding-groups. It can be concluded that daily DON intakes as high as 6.9 to 9.5 mg/100 kg BW appear to have no major impact on the measured immune response of horses, indicating that this species has a high tolerance for DON.
Institute of Nutrition, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. annabella.khol-parisini@vetmeduni.ac.at
Annabella
A
Khol-Parisini
Petra
P
Hellweg
Ebrahim
E
Razzazi-Fazeli
Armin
A
Saalmüller
Alois
A
Strasser
Alexander
A
Tichy
Jürgen
J
Zenteke
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D018554:Avena / Q000737:chemistry*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000276:immunology; D006736:Horses; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D056724:Immunity, Humoral / Q000187:drug effects; D014255:Trichothecenes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*
D014255:Trichothecenes; C007262:deoxynivalenol