1122 AJVR, Vol 68, No. 10, October 2007 O n a global basis, Fusarium mycotoxins are the most economically important grain mycotoxins. 1 These compounds are typically found in corn, wheat, and bar- ley that grow in temperate regions and can affect the health and productivity of domestic animals world- wide. 2 Fusarium mycotoxins have also been found in commercial cereal-based pet foods. 3 Fusarium mycotoxins include zearalenone, fu- monisins, and FA; these trichothecenes are diverse in their chemical structures and toxic effects. Trichothe- cenes, such as DON (vomitoxin), nivalenol, T-2 toxin, and DAS, cause vomiting, anorexia, gastrointestinal Effects of foodborne Fusarium mycotoxins with and without a polymeric glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent on food intake and nutrient digestibility, body weight, and physical and clinicopathologic variables of mature dogs Maxwell C. K. Leung, MSc; Trevor K. Smith, PhD; Niel A. Karrow, PhD; Herman J. Boermans, PhD, DVM Objective—To investigate the effects of feeding cereal-based diets that are naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins to dogs and assess the efficacy of a polymeric glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent (GMA) in prevention of Fusarium mycotoxicosis. Animals—12 mature female Beagles. Procedures—Dogs received each of 3 cereal-based diets for 14 days. One diet was uncontaminated (control diet), and the other 2 contained contaminated grains; one of the contaminated diets also contained 0.2% GMA. Contaminants included deoxynivalenol, 15- acetyl deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and fusaric acid. Food intake and nutrient digestibility, body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and clinicopathologic variables of the dogs were assessed at intervals during the feeding periods. Results—Food intake and body weight of dogs fed the contaminated diet without GMA were significantly decreased, compared with effects of the control diet. Reductions in blood pressure; heart rate; serum concentrations of total protein, globulin, and fibrinogen; and serum activities of alkaline phosphatase and amylase as well as increases in blood monocyte count and mean corpuscular volume were detected. Consumption of GMA did not ameliorate the effects of the Fusarium mycotoxins. For the GMA-contaminated diet, digestibility of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid was significantly higher than that associated with the control diet, possibly because of physiologic adaptation of the recipient dogs to reduced food intake. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that consumption of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins can adversely affect dogs’ feeding behaviors and metabolism. As a food additive, GMA was not effective in prevention of Fusarium mycotoxicosis in dogs. (Am J Vet Res 2007;68:1122–1129) tract irritation, and immunosuppression in many mam- malian species. 4 Fusaric acid affects brain neurotrans- mitter concentrations and causes vomiting, lethargy, and hypotension. 5-8 Although acute aflatoxicosis in dogs is frequently reported and studied, 9,10 little research ap- pears to have been devoted to Fusarium mycotoxicoses in dogs. Polymeric mycotoxin absorbents have been re- ported 11 to prevent mycotoxicosis in animals by re- ducing intestinal absorption of mycotoxins and their subsequent transport to target tissues. A yeast-de- rived polymeric GMA has been effective in prevent- ing the development of mycotoxicoses in poultry, swine, and horses. 12-14 The objective of the study reported here was to in- vestigate the effects of feeding cereal-based diets that are naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins Received January 22, 2007. Accepted March 22, 2007. From the Department of Animal and Poultry Science, Ontario Agricultural College (Leung, Smith, Karrow), and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College (Boermans), University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada. Supported by Alltech Incorporated. The authors thank Jim Atkinson and Gabriel Díaz-Llano for assistance with the experimental design; Lindsey DeVries, Alyssa Foulkes, Annette Morrison, and Jackie Rombeek for assistance in the feeding trial; Ian McMillan for assistance with the statistical analysis; and Grant Perry for assistance with the fusaric acid analysis. Address correspondence to Dr. Smith. ABBREVIATIONS FA Fusaric acid DON Deoxynivalenol DAS Diacetoxyscirpenol GMA Glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography Unauthenticated | Downloaded 08/14/22 04:45 AM UTC