An investigation of different antimycotoxin additives in swine intestinal explants challenged with aflatoxin and fumonisin: ex vivo and in vitro models

This study aimed to develop an ex vivo model to evaluate the efficacy of antimycotoxin additives (AMAs) against aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)) and fumonisin B-1 (FB1) using intestinal explants of growing pigs. Four assays of two treatments with 12 replicates each (24 jejunal explants used per assay) were performed using an Ussing Chamber (UC) system: two assays to evaluate two AMAs for AFB(1) and two assays to evaluate two AMAs for FB1. The difference between the two assays for both AFB(1) and FB1 was the composition of the additive used. The treatments for AFB(1) assays were control [Buffer solution (BS) + 1 mg/l AFB(1)] and AMA (BS + 1 mg/l AFB(1) + 0.5% AMA 1 or 2). The treatments for FB1 assays were control (BS + 50 mg/l FB1) and AMA (BS + 50 mg/l FB1 + 0.5% AMA 3 or 4). The efficacy of the four additives was also tested in vitro. The AFB(1) concentrations in the explants from AMAs 1 and 2 were lower (P < 0.0001) than in the control. AMAs 1 and 2 reduced the jejunal absorption of AFB(1) by 83.4 and 72.9%, respectively. Explants from AMAs 3 and 4 had lower FB1 (P < 0.0001) concentration when compared to the respective control treatment. AMAs 3 and 4 reduced the FB1 absorption by 31.9 and 17.6%, respectively. In the in vitro test, AMAs 1 and 2 provided 98.4 and 86.3% of AFB(1) adsorption, respectively, while AMA 3 and 4 provided 91.2 and 80.5% FB1 adsorption, respectively. The ex vivo model can be a useful tool in evaluating the effectiveness of antimycotoxin additives for AFB(1) and FB1 in swine. However, the low FB1 uptake in jejunal explants highlights the need for the development of additional information to improve the method.