Toxicity of T-2 toxin and its interaction with deoxynivalenol when fed to young pigs

Sixty 12-wk-old pigs were fed a corn–barley–soybean type diet in a 2 × 5 factorial experiment. Two mycotoxin, corn-based premixes were added: one with and without deoxynivalenol (DON) supplement (2.5 mg kg −1 feed) and the other with T-2 toxin at levels of 0.0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 mg kg −1 feed. After a 5-wk feeding period the pigs were killed; major organs were examined grossly and microscopically, and blood and tissue samples were taken for biochemical and hematological analyses. Lower final body weight and daily gain appeared (P > 0.05) to be associated with increasing dietary T-2 toxin content. Feed intake followed a similar trend. The performance of pigs fed the DON-supplemented diets was significantly less than for diets without the DON. There was an interaction between DON and T-2 toxin, with differences in weight gain and feed intake, at the two levels of DON, being smaller at the intermediate levels of T-2 toxin. The incidence of lesions on the mucosa of the pars esophageal region increased with increasing levels of T-2. Otherwise, there was little evidence that T-2 affected any of the major organs examined at necropsy or the biochemical and hematological criteria. It seemed that any effects detected were attributable more to DON and its interaction with T-2 than to the presence of T-2 toxin alone. Key words: Pigs, T-2 toxin, DON, toxin interaction