High deoxynivalenol and ergot alkaloid levels in wheat grain: effects on growth performance, carcass traits, rumen fermentation, and blood parameters of feedlot cattle

• Published in: Mycotoxin research 2024-08, Vol.40 (3), p.401-417
• Main Authors: Bierworth, R. M., Ribeiro, G. O., Terry, S. A., Malmuthuge, N, Penner, G. B., McKinnon, J. J., Hucl, P., Randhawa, H., Beauchemin, K. A., Stanford, K., Schwartzkopf-Genswein, K., Yang, W. Z., Gruninger, R., Guan, L. L., Gibb, D., McAllister, T. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alanine; Alanine transaminase; Alkaloids; Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blood; Carcasses; Cattle; Chemistry/Food Science; Deoxynivalenol; Diet - veterinary; Ergot; Ergot Alkaloids - analysis; Feedlots; Fermentation; Globulins; Glutathione; Glutathione peroxidase; Grain; Interleukin 10; Life Sciences; Lymphocytes; Male; Medical Microbiology; Medicine/Public Health; Microbiology; Mixtures; Mycotoxins; Parameters; Peroxidase; Rumen; Trichothecenes; Triticum - chemistry; Urea; Wheat
• ISSN: 0178-7888; 1867-1632; 1867-1632
• DOI: 10.1007/s12550-024-00534-5

This study was designed to assess the impacts of a mixture of deoxynivalenol (DON) and ergot alkaloids (EAs) on growth performance, rumen function, blood parameters, and carcass traits of feedlot cattle. Forty steers (450 ± 6.0 kg) were stratified by weight and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatments; control-low (CON-L), control-high (CON-H) which contained low or high wheat screenings that lacked mycotoxins at the same level as the mycotoxin-low (MYC-L; 5.0 mg/kg DON, 2.1 mg/kg EA), and mycotoxin-high (MYC-H: 10 mg/kg DON, 4.2 mg/kg EA) diets that included wheat screening with mycotoxins. Steers were housed in individual pens for a 112-day finishing trial. Intake was 24.8% lower ( P