Dietary glucomannan improves the vaccinal response in pigs exposed to aflatoxin B1 or T-2 toxin

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with yeast-derived glucomannan protects pigs against the deleterious effects that exposure to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) or T-2 toxin has on the vaccinal immune response and drug-metabolising enzymes. Three doses of pure mycotoxin (AFB1 trial: 482, 968 and 1,912 µg/kg feed; T-2 toxin trial: 593, 1,155 and 2,067 µg/kg feed) with or without dietary glucomannan supplementation (2 g/ kg feed) were tested in weaned pigs for 28 days. At days 4 and 15 pigs were immunised with ovalbumin to study the humoral and cell-mediated antigen-specific immune responses. The effects of AFB1 and T-2 toxin intake alone in pigs have already been published. In all parameters investigated no differences were apparent between animals receiving the unsupplemented control diet or the control diet containing glucomannan. In the AFB1 trial glucomannan decreased the severity of liver lesions in animals exposed to 968 µg/kg feed. Exposure to both AFB1 and T-2 toxin were associated with impaired phase I liver enzyme activities, but glucomannan demonstrated a limited protective effect on these enzymes. With regard to the immune defence system, both toxins modulated the vaccinal immune response; AFB1 impaired specific cellular response and T-2 toxin the specific humoral response. Glucomannan supplementation restored the ovalbumin-specific lymphocyte proliferation that was delayed in pigs exposed to AFB1, regardless of dose. In the T-2 toxin trial glucomannan supplementation restored anti-ovalbumin immunoglobulin G production, which was significantly reduced in pigs exposed to both medium and high doses of the toxin. In conclusion, glucomannan dietary supplementation demonstrated no deleterious effects in control animals and protective effects against AFB1 and T-2 toxin immunotoxicity during a vaccinal protocol.