In vivo toxicity assessment of deoxynivalenol-contaminated wheat after ozone degradation

ABSTRACT

The effect of ozone on deoxynivalenol (DON) detoxification was investigated. Ozone treatment could significantly reduce the levels of DON in wheat; 53% of DON in wheat was decomposed with 90 mg l^–1 of ozone at a flow rate of 15 l min^–1 for 4 h. The safety of DON-contaminated wheats (DCWs) untreated/treated by ozone was also evaluated. Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were divided into a standard diet group and five experimental diet groups for a 51-day orally administration experiment. In the experiment, no remarkable changes in the general appearance of the mice were observed, and all the mice survived until the scheduled necropsy. The results of sub-chronic toxicity indicated that mice fed on DCWs alone had significantly decreased in body weight gain, thymus and spleen weights, ratios of liver, thymus and spleen to body weight, blood indices (red blood cell, haemoglobin, white blood cell), and pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)), while showing a significant increase in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, blood creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels. Histopathological examination indicate that DON elicited some degree of toxicity on the liver, kidney and thymus tissue. Mice fed on DCWs treated by ozone mitigated the adverse effects compared with mice fed on DCWs. All the results suggested that the deleterious effects of DON could be highly reduced by ozone, and ozone itself shows minor toxic effects on animals in this process.

KEYWORDS:

• Wheat
• deoxynivalenol
• ozone
• safety evaluation
• sub-chronic toxicity experiment

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31201381, 31471616, 31501579), National Key Technology R&D Program (2012BAD34B02) and Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (1501078B).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Grain-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of China [grant number 201313005]; the Scientific Research Innovation Team of Agricultural Products Processing and Quality Safety [grant number 2014TD006]; the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 31471616 and 31501579]; Central Universities [grant numbers JUSRP11510 and JUSRP51302A]; the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [grant number 1501078B]; and the Industry Development Program in the Collaborative Innovation Center for Food Safety and Quality Control, Jiangsu province.