PREVALENCE, TOXICOKINETICS AND CLINICAL SIGNS OF ZEARALENONE MYCOTOXICOSIS IN PIGS - AN OVERVIEW.

The contamination of feeds and foods with mycotoxins is a global ecological and public health issue. The effects of fungi growing on feeds and of mycotoxins produced by them are outlined with the fact that even minimum concentrations, especially in cases of potentiated synergism and continuous exposure, may cause substantial harm to health manifested with immunosuppression, reproductive disorders in farm animals and hence, reduced productive performance and great economic losses. By affecting numerous economic sectors and the food industry in particular, mycotoxins pose a huge threat to animal and human health. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that 25% of global food crops used as primary feed ingredients in animal and human nutrition are affected by mycotoxins and contaminated as early as during the stages of plant growth, harvesting, transportation or storage. The most important mycotoxins, subject to extensive research and of enormous economic relevance in modern livestock husbandry, pig farming in particular, are deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), T-2 toxin (T-2), fumonisin B1 (FB1), ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). The present review describes zearalenone (ZEA) as one of the main pig feed contaminants, its prevalence, toxicokinetics, toxicodynamics and clinical signs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]