Effects of aflatoxin B1 combined with ochratoxin A and/or zearalenone on metabolism, immune function, and antioxidant status in lactating dairy goats

OBJECTIVE This experiment investigated the effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) alone or mixed with ochratoxin A (OTA) and/or zearalenone (ZEA) on the metabolism, immune function, and antioxidant status of dairy goats. METHODS Fifty lactating Laoshan dairy goats were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups (n = 10) for 14 days. Goats were fed no additive (control) or administered with 50 μg AFB1/kg dry matter (DM) (AFB1), 50 μg AFB1/kg DM+100 μg OTA/kg DM (AFB1+ OTA), 50 μg AFB1/kg DM+500 μg ZEA/kg DM (AFB1+ZEA), or 50 μg AFB1/kg DM+100 μg OTA/kg DM+500 μg ZEA/kg DM (AFB1+OTA+ZEA). RESULTS Dry matter intake and milk production were lower in goats fed AFB1+OTA+ZEA than in controls. Supplementation with AFB1, OTA, and ZEA significantly decreased red blood cell count, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean platelet volume, and significantly increased white blood cell count, when compared with the control group. Compared with control, the combination of AFB1, OTA, and ZEA significantly increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, total bilirubin (TBIL), interleukin-6, and malondialdehyde (MDA), but significantly reduced immunoglobulin A concentration, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxides (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in serum. Administration of AFB1 combined with OTA led to higher ALP, ALT, TBIL, and MDA, as well as lower milk production, SOD and GSH-Px activities, and T-AOC, than administration of AFB1 combined with ZEA. CONCLUSION The mixture of AFB1, OTA, and ZEA exerted the greatest adverse effects on dairy goats, meanwhile the deleterious damage of the other mycotoxin combinations were in varying degrees. The findings of this study could provide guidance for the prevention and treatment of the consequences of contamination of animal feeds with combinations of mycotoxin.