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Intestinal metabolism of T-2 toxin in the pig cecum model

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Abstract

T-2 toxin, a toxic member of the group A trichothecenes, is produced by various Fusarium species that can potentially affect human health. As the intestine plays an important role in the metabolism of T-2 toxin for animals and humans, the degradation and metabolism of T-2 toxin was studied using the pig cecum in vitro model system developed in the author’s group. In order to study the intestinal degradation of T-2 toxin by pig microbiota, incubation was performed with the cecal chyme from four different pigs in repeat determinations. A large variation in the intestinal degradation of T-2 toxin was observed for individual pigs. T-2 toxin was degraded almost completely in one out of four pigs, in which only 3.0 ± 0.1 % of T-2 toxin was left after 24 h incubation. However, in the other three incubations with pig cecal suspension, 54.1 ± 11.7–68.9 ± 16.1 % of T-2 toxin were still detectable after 24 h incubation time. The amount of HT-2 toxin was increased along with the incubation time, and HT-2 toxin accounted for 85.2 ± 0.7 % after 24 h in the most active cecum. HT-2 toxin was the only detectable metabolite formed by the intestinal bacteria. This study suggests that the toxicity of T-2 toxin for pigs is caused by the combination of T-2 and HT-2 toxins.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Kurzen family (Gut Wewel, Senden, Germany) for providing the ceca. This study was supported by a fellowship to Q.W. from the China Scholarship Council and a fellowship to A.E. from the NRW Graduate School of Chemistry. Furthermore, the project was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB118800)

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOA Key Laboratory of Food Safety Evaluation/National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Qinghua Wu & Zonghui Yuan

  2. NRW Graduate School of Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Strasse 10, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Anna Engemann & Hans-Ulrich Humpf

  3. Institute of Food Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Corrensstrasse 45, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Qinghua Wu, Anna Engemann, Benedikt Cramer, Tanja Welsch & Hans-Ulrich Humpf

Authors
  1. Qinghua Wu
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  2. Anna Engemann
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  3. Benedikt Cramer
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  4. Tanja Welsch
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  5. Zonghui Yuan
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  6. Hans-Ulrich Humpf
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hans-Ulrich Humpf.

Additional information

Qinghua Wu and Anna Engemann contributed equally to this work.

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Wu, Q., Engemann, A., Cramer, B. et al. Intestinal metabolism of T-2 toxin in the pig cecum model. Mycotoxin Res 28, 191–198 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-012-0134-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-012-0134-y

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