Comparison of histology, growth characteristics, gut microbiota, and metabolites in the meat and organs of deoxynivalenol-contaminated piglets

This study aimed to examine the effect of different deoxynivalenol (DON) concentrations on growth performance, histological alterations, fungal populations, and metabolomic profiles in pigs. Twelve weaned piglets were housed in environmentally controlled pens for four weeks. After a week of dietary and environmental adaptation, they were placed in one of the four groups, namely 1) control group, basal diet; 2) T1 group, basal diet supplemented with 1 mg DON/kg feed; 3) T2 group, basal diet supplemented with 3 mg DON/kg feed; and 4) T3 group, basal diet supplemented with 10 mg DON/kg feed. The T3 group was found to have a significantly lower final body weight and average daily gain than the others (p<0.05). As DON concentration levels increased, fibrosis was observed in liver, ileum, and rectum along with the apoptosis of liver cells. However, the gut fungal composition did not show significant differences across the treatments. Collectively, our findings indicated high DON concentrations in pigs to be associated with several adverse effects, including histological changes and growth retardation.