ZEOTEK Against Zearalenone Challenge in Prepubertal Gilts

2 days ago

José Antonio Fierro, Patricia Gomez, Lourdes Martínez, Juan Carlos Medina

“In vivo” ZEOTEK Trials (Swine)
Study of the Effectiveness of ZEOTEK Against a Zearalenone Challenge in Prepubertal Gilts

Objective

To evaluate an in vivo trial to demonstrate the efficacy of ZEOTEK against 300 ppb of zearalenone in gilts. The experimental period was 28 days.

Materials and Methods

Twenty-four recently weaned gilts, 21 days of age, were used and allocated to 3 treatments consisting of 2 gilts with 4 replicates, with controlled feeding and water provided ad libitum for 28 days. The first 7 days were for adaptation.

The experimental diets were as follows:

Treatment	ZEOTEK (g/kg)	Zearalenone (µg/kg)	DON (µg/kg)	Fumonisin B1 (µg/kg)	Aflatoxin B1 (µg/kg)
Negative control	0	35	240	600	15
Positive control	0	290	340	580	20
ZEOTEK challenge	1.5	260	365	610	15

The gilts were received, weighed, and placed in their pens for the adaptation period (7 days). Subsequently, they were weighed again and allocated at 2 gilts per replicate, with their respective treatment. Individual body weight was recorded weekly until the end of the experiment.

Feed conversion ratio, feed intake, weight gain, and vulvar measurements (length × width × depth) were calculated weekly.

At the end of the experiment, the gilts were euthanized; subsequently, the reproductive tract was removed and weighed individually to obtain its relative weight.

The data obtained were analyzed by ANOVA using the SYSTAT statistical software, with Tukey’s test used to determine differences between means. The significance level was set at a probability of 0.05.

Results

The results obtained after 21 days of experimentation showed no statistically significant differences among treatments in initial body weight, final body weight, or feed intake; however, statistically significant differences were observed in weight gain and feed conversion ratio (Table 1). With respect to the weight gain of the intoxicated group, it may be considered that zearalenone is metabolized in the animals’ bodies to zeranol, which is a growth promoter.

Table 1. Initial and final body weight (28 days), weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and feed intake.

Treatment	Initial weight (g)	Final weight (g)	Weight gain (g)	Feed conversion ratio	Feed intake (g)
Negative control	7580 ± 237^a	17030 ± 434^ab	9450 ± 353^ab	1.49 ± 0.045^ab	14100 ± 523^a
Positive ZEA control	7260 ± 188^a	17840 ± 388^a	10580 ± 279^a	1.31 ± 0.031^a	13910 ± 177^a
ZEOTEK challenge	7310 ± 192^a	16200 ± 504^b	8890 ± 361^b	1.59 ± 0.065^b	14100 ± 223^a

Means with different superscript letters are statistically significantly different to p < 0.05.

Table 2. Vulvar volume (cm³/kg), percentage (%) of relative vulvar weight, and relative reproductive tract weight at the end of the trial.

Treatment	Relative reproductive tract weight (%)	Relative vulvar weight (%)	Vulvar volume (cm³/kg)
Negative control	0.0860 ± 0.0069^a	0.0241 ± 0.0019^a	0.078 ± 0.007^a
Positive ZEA control	0.1327 ± 0.0096^b	0.0459 ± 0.0040^b	0.330 ± 0.052^b
ZEOTEK + ZEA	0.1048 ± 0.0043^a	0.0299 ± 0.0011^a	0.152 ± 0.015^a

Means with different superscript letters are statistically significantly different at p < 0.05.

ZEOTEK Effectiveness

60%

Relative reproductive tract weight

73%

Relative vulvar weight

71%

Vulvar volume

60% (relative reproductive tract weight); 73% (relative vulvar weight); 71% (vulvar volume).

The European Union establishes that a product is considered effective when it provides 40% protection. In this case, effectiveness was estimated based on reproductive parameters relative to the positive control group.

Conclusion

The zearalenone inclusion levels in this experiment (275 ppb) affected the reproductive parameters evaluated. These results showed statistically significant differences in these parameters among the groups.

The antimycotoxin additive ZEOTEK, used at 1.5 kg/t of feed, showed a protective effect on relative vulvar weight, relative reproductive tract weight, and vulvar volume.

The effect of ZEOTEK was observed in the reproductive parameters and, by preventing ZEA adsorption, eliminated the growth-promoting effect.