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Effects of Feedborne Fusarium Mycotoxins on Brain Regional Neurochemistry of Turkeys

C. K. Girish^*, E. J. MacDonald, M. Scheinin and T. K. Smith^*,1

^* Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1; and Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Kuopio, FI-70211, Finland, and Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku and TYKSLAB, FI-20520 Turku, Finland

¹ Corresponding author: tsmith{at}uoguelph.ca

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on brain regional neurochemistry of turkeys. The possible preventative effect of a poly-meric glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent (GMA) was also determined. Forty-five 1-d-old male turkey poults were fed wheat-, corn-, and soybean meal-based diets up to wk 6, formulated with control grains, contaminated grains, or contaminated grains + 0.2% GMA. Deoxynivalenol was the major contaminant, and the concentrations were 2.2 and 3.3 mg/kg of feed during starter and grower phases, respectively. Concentrations of brain monoamine neurotransmitters and metabolites were measured in discrete regions of the brain including the pons, hypothalamus, and cortex by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Neurotransmitters and metabolites analyzed included norepinephrine, dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). The concentration of 5-HIAA and the 5-HIAA:5-HT-ratio were significantly decreased in pons after feeding contaminated grains. Dietary supplementation with GMA prevented these effects. In the pons, a significant positive correlation (r = 0.52, P < 0.05) was observed between the concentration of 5-HT and BW gain after feeding contaminated diets. The feeding of contaminated diet had no significant effects on the concentrations of neurotransmitters and metabolites in hypothalamus and cortex. It was concluded that consumption of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins adversely altered the pons serotonergic system of turkeys. Supplementation with GMA partially inhibited these effects.

Key Words: Fusarium mycotoxin • 5-hydroxytryptamine • 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid • turkey