Sl. Lemke et al., Investigation of organophilic montmorillonite clay inclusion in zearalenone-contaminated diets using the mouse uterine weight bioassay, J TOX E H A, 62(4), 2001, pp. 243-258
Citations number
24
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology,"Pharmacology & Toxicology
Journal title
JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH-PART A
Previous studies with low-pH montmorillonite (LPHM) clay exchanged with alk
ylammonium compounds showed that these organo clays were quite effective in
sorbing the estrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEN) from aqueous solution.
The potential toxicity of these types of clays, in particular hexadecyltrim
ethylammonium (HDTMA) LPHM, led to the investigation of the sorption effica
cy of clay exchanged with a less toxic primary amine analog, hexadecylamine
(HDA). Isothermal analysis studies showed that HDA LPHM was able to bind Z
EN, but less effectively than HDTMA LPHM as evidenced by a significantly lo
wer Freundlich K (63,900 vs. 845). The in vivo effectiveness of these two c
lays to bind ZEN was tested utilizing the mouse uterine weight bioassay. At
a dietary inclusion level of 0.25%, the clays did not have a negative impa
ct on overall animal health as measured by final body weight; however, they
did not protect the animals from the estrogenic effects induced by 35 mg Z
EN/kg in the feed (i.e., the uterine weights were not reduced in comparison
to ZEN alone). In fact, the HDTMA LPHM group showed an increase in uterine
weight that was more than the ZEN treatment group. When the animals were f
ed 0.5% clay, both exchanged clays (i.e., HDTMA LPHM and HDA LPHM) resulted
in decreased body weight gain. The uterine weights of ZEN-fed animals (eit
her alone or in combination with clays) were not significantly different fr
om each other. In contrast, the uterine:body weight ratio showed a dramatic
increase in the groups fed exchanged clay + ZEN compared to ZEN alone. The
se results suggest that alkylamine groups may assist the transport or uptak
e of ZEN and result in an enhanced toxicity from contaminated feed. The fin
dings from this study clearly demonstrate the need for careful testing of a
ll mycotoxin-binding agents before their inclusion in the diet.