DOI: 10.2478/fv-2020-0018 FOLIA VETERINARIA, 64, 2: 60—65, 2020 IN VIVO ASSESSMENT OF ZEARALENONE TOXICITY Harčárová, M.1, Čonková, E.2, Proškovcová M.2, Falis, M.3 1Institute of nutrition, dietetics and feed production, 2Institute of pharmacology 3Institute of toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice Komenského 73, 041 81 Košice Slovakia
[email protected] ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION The microscopic filamentous fungi of the genus Zearalenone (ZEA) is one of the most important myco- Fusarium are capable of producing secondary metabo- toxins and it is produced by the Fusarium toxigenic species: lites—mycotoxins. Fusarium fungi synthesize trichot- F. graminearum, F. culmorum, F. equiseti, F. crookwellense, hecenes, zearalenone (ZEA) and fumonisins under ap- F. roseum, F. nivale, F. tricinctum, F. sporotrichioides, F. oxy- propriate environmental conditions. In this biological sporum, F moniliforme, F. lateritium, F. sacchari, F. sambu- experiment, we studied the effects of zearalenone on cinum, F. gibbosum and others [2, 14]. Zearalenone (Fig. 1) a model organism called Artemia franciscana. During is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin that has a struc- the three-day in vivo tests, we used five different con- ture similar to steroid hormones, increasing its ability to centrations of zearalenone (0.08 ppm, 0.4 ppm, 2 ppm, bind to the intracellular oestrogen receptors of the uterus, 10 ppm and 50 ppm). The results of this study showed hypothalamus and pituitary gland. It acts as an agonist and that as the zearalenone concentration and the duration partly as an estradiol antagonist. As a result of this action, of the mycotoxin exposure increased, the lethality of ar- zearalenone inhibits the secretion of the follicle-stimu- temia also increased.