Targeted Analysis of Sphingolipids in Turkeys Fed Fusariotoxins: First Evidence of Key Changes That Could Help Explain Their Relative Resistance to Fumonisin Toxicity

The effects of fumonisins on sphingolipids in turkeys are unknown, except for the increased sphinganine to sphingosine ratio (Sa:So) used as a biomarker. Fumonisins fed at 20.2 mg/kg for 14 days were responsible for a 4.4 fold increase in the Sa:So ratio and a decrease of 33% and 36% in C14-C16 ceramides and C14-C16 sphingomyelins, respectively, whereas C18-C26 ceramides and C18-C26 sphingomyelins remained unaffected or were increased. Glucosyl- and lactosyl-ceramides paralleled the concentrations of ceramides. Fumonisins also increased dihydroceramides but had no effect on deoxysphinganine. A partial least squfares discriminant analysis revealed that all changes in sphingolipids were important in explaining the effect of fumonisins. Because deoxynivalenol and zearalenone are often found in feed, their effects on sphingolipids alone and in combination with fumonisins were investigated. Feeding 5.12 mg deoxynivalenol/kg reduced dihydroceramides in the liver. Zearalenone fed at 0.47 mg/kg had no effect on sphingolipids. When fusariotoxins were fed simultaneously, the effects on sphingolipids were similar to those observed in turkeys fed fumonisins alone. The concentration of fumonisin B1 in the liver of turkeys fed fumonisins was 0.06 µmol/kg. Changes in sphingolipid concentrations differed but were consistent with the IC50 of fumonisin B1 measured in mammals; these changes could explain the relative resistance of turkeys to fumonisins

Recherche expérimentale de composés alternatifs au formaldéhyde pour la désinfection des oeufs à couver de Gallus gallus

National audienc

Ingestion de sol et de végétaux par des poules élevées en plein air nourries avec un aliment complet ou à base de blé entier et de coquilles marines

National audienceThe aim of the current study was to develop a methodology to quantify ingestion of soil and of herbage by free-range layers and to evaluate the impact of nutrient restriction on this ingestion. Eight hundred Lohmann laying hens aged 21 weeks were equally divided between four experimental units consisting each in a 32 m 2 henhouse and a 2,840 m 2 grass/clover pasture. Two groups were fed a complete layer diet for 6 weeks (spring) and a diet of whole wheat with ground sea shells for the subsequent 6 weeks (summer), while the other two groups received the wheat diet first, followed by the layer diet. Feed and water were given ad libitum inside the henhouse. Hens had free access to fields. Measurements were performed during the last week of each experimental period. Whole-wheat depressed laying rate and egg weight by 61 and 19%, respectively compared to complete diet. It also increased the mean number of hens present on the outdoor run between 7 am and 9 pm (121 a 149 vs 72 a 90) and their distance to the henhouse (26 a 36 m vs 21 a 23 m). Analysis of insoluble ash and odd chain n-alkanes (C25 to C33) in droppings was used to estimate soil and herbage ingestion, respectively. In spring, hens consumed daily 111 g of complete diet and 83 g of wheat-based diet, while feed consumption in summer was 130 and 94 g, respectively. On a dry matter (DM) basis, hens on the complete diet ingested daily 5.6 to 8.1 g of herbage and 3.6 to 7.2 g of soil. Hens fed the wheat-based diet ingested less herbage (around 1.5 g DM per day), but higher amounts of soil, especially in spring, during which soil ingestion reached 15 to 30 g DM per day

Effects of whole wheat feeding on the development of the digestive tract of broiler chickens

International audienceThe objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of including whole wheat in broiler diets on the development of the digestive tract. Chickens were fed a standard feed containing 400 g ground wheat/kg or the same diet with a part of the wheat given separately as whole grains that increased progressively from 200 g/kg at 8 d to 400 g/kg at 22 d. Every week, from 16 to 44 d, growth performance, modifications of the size of the digestive tract organs and intestinal enzyme activities were investigated. Morphology of villi and crypts in the small intestinal segments (duodenum, jejunum, ileum) were analyzed at 23 and 44 d. Microbacterial counts were performed in jejunal, Real and caecal contents weekly from 16 to 44 d. During the adaptation period from 8 to 15 d, the birds fed the whole wheat diet had lower feed intake and lower weight gain. Thereafter, they showed improved growth performance so that by the end of the experiment, they had higher body weight compared to the standard-fed birds, 2430 +/- 29 versus 2331 +/- 36 g. Higher relative weights of gizzard (+26%) and pancreas (+12%) were observed from 16 to 44 d for whole wheat-fed birds compared to standard-fed birds. No differences in relative size of the different intestinal segments were observed, except that the jejunum was shorter. Increased villus to crypt length and surface ratios were observed at 23 d in the duodenum of whole wheat-fed birds, with no differences in morphometry between groups thereafter. Alkaline phosphatase activity was higher from 16 to 44 d in the duodenum and jejunum of whole wheat-fed birds. However, the activities of the digestive enzymes, leucine aminopeptidase and maltase, were similar between the two diets in the measured intestinal segments. A lower number of facultative anaerobic bacteria was found in the ileum of the whole wheat-fed birds, with no differences between treatments for Escherichia coli and for Lactobacillus counts. In the jejunum and the caeca, no differences in microflora counts were observed. The present results showed that feeding whole grains to broilers led mainly to modifications in the upper part of the digestive tract (gizzard, pancreas) and had little influence on the small and large intestine. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Intake of herbage and soil by free-range laying hens offered a complete diet compared to a whole-wheat diet

National audienc

Evaluation de l'innocuité et des effets immunostimulants d'extraits végétaux sur lignées cellulaires de poulet

International audienc

Zearalenone and Metabolites in Livers of Turkey Poults and Broiler Chickens Fed with Diets Containing Fusariotoxins

Zearalenone (ZEN) and metabolites were measured in livers of turkeys and broilers fed a control diet free of mycotoxins, a diet that contained 0.5 mg/kg ZEN (ZEN diet), and a diet that contained 0.5, 5, and 20 mg/kg of ZEN, fumonisins, and deoxynivalenol, respectively (ZENDONFB diet). The feed was individually distributed to male Grade Maker turkeys from the 55th to the 70th day of age and to male Ross chickens from the 1st to the 35th day of age, without any signs of toxicity. Together, the free and conjugated forms of ZEN, α- and β-zearalenols (ZOLs), zearalanone (ZAN), and α- and β-zearalanols (ZALs) were measured by UHPLC-MS/MS with [13C18]-ZEN as an internal standard and immunoaffinity clean-up of samples. ZAN and ZALs were not detected. ZEN and ZOLs were mainly found in their conjugated forms. α-ZOL was the most abundant and was found at a mean concentration of 2.23 and 1.56 ng/g in turkeys and chickens, respectively. Consuming the ZENDONFB diet significantly increased the level of total metabolites in the livers of chickens. Furthermore, this increase was more pronounced for the free forms of α-ZOL than for the conjugated forms. An investigation of the presence of ZEN and metabolites in muscle with the methods validated for the liver failed to reveal any traces of these contaminants in this tissue. These results suggest that concomitant dietary exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FB) may alter the metabolism and persistence of ZEN and its metabolites in the liver

Piste de recherches pour améliorer la robustesse des lapereaux au sevrage : l'alimentation précoce

L’objectif de notre étude était de stimuler l’ingestion solide du lapereau allaité en modulant l’âge d’accès à l’aliment solide granulé (j8 vs j18) ou le ratio protéine/amidon de l’aliment. Trois lots de 17 portées ont été constitués. Dans le lot 1, les lapereaux allaités avaient accès, dès 8j dans le nid, à l’aliment P+A- (protéine digestible 15,5%; amidon 6,8 %); dans le lot 2, les lapereaux avaient accès au même aliment mais seulement à partir de 18j. Pour le lot 3, les lapereaux étaient nourris à partir de 18 jours avec un aliment P-A+ (protéine digestible : 9,9 %, amidon 8,9%). Au sevrage (35 j), les lapereaux ont été rationnés à 80% de l’ingestion volontaire. L’état sanitaire a été contrôlé quotidiennement, la production laitière de la lapine a été mesurée 2 fois par semaine, le poids vif et la consommation d'aliment par les lapereaux, dans le nid entre 8 et 18j, puis dans la mangeoire (18-35j) ont été mesurés. Le taux de mortalité n’était pas différent entre les lots (2,8% entre 8 et 35 j ; et 0,4 % entre 35 et 70 j). L’ingestion d'aliment granulé au nid entre 8 et 18j est de 0,75 granulé/lapin/jour. Cette consommation précoce de granulé n’a pas eu d’incidence sur la production laitière des mères ou la croissance jusqu’au sevrage des lapereaux. Sur la période 35 – 70 j, le lot 3 présente la croissance la plus élevée (39,5±0,4 g/j), la plus faible est observée pour le lot 2 (37,6±0,4 g/j) tandis que le lot 1 présente une valeur intermédiaire (38,8±0,5 g/j). Ces résultats confirment la capacité des lapereaux à ingérer précocement un aliment solide sans effet délétère sur la santé. Dans nos conditions, sanitaires favorables, l’aliment riche en amidon montre un intérêt pour la croissance post sevrage des lapereaux