EFFICACY ASSESSMENT OF YEAST FRACTIONS IN ADSORBING MYCOTOXINS AND IN REDUCING THEIR ORAL BIOAVAILABILITY IN ANIMALS

In addition to their efficiency as postbiotics, delivering probiotic effects on microbiota and immunity, yeast cell walls (YCW's) are widely used by the animal feed industry as mycotoxin adsorbents. Several studies have shown that most YCW's, when tested in vitro, display evident mycotoxin reducing effects, but with differing levels of consistency. Our focus, therefore, was directed to the selection of a yeast cell wall with high adsorbing capacities for mycotoxins. After selecting an effective YCW based on in vitro adsorption results, toxicokinetic studies were performed in rats and piglets to investigate the efficacy of YCW in reducing the systemic exposure of mycotoxins. The effect of the mycotoxin detoxifier on the oral absorption of the mycotoxin was evaluated by statistical comparison of toxicokinetic parameters between control and treated groups, with special emphasis on area under the curve from time zero to infinite (AUC0??), maximal plasma concentration (Cmax), time at maximal plasma concentration (Tmax) and relative oral bioavailability (F). The YCW product tested in in vivo experiments was able to reduce significantly the intestinal absorption of mycotoxins tested.