Fumonisin B1 (FB1) has the highest natural contamination rate among all fumonisin analogs and can inhibit food intake and weight gain of pigs. Under laboratory conditions, carboxylesterase FumDSB has a high FB1 degradation rate and excellent pH and thermal stability. The present study sought to estimate the effects of FumDSB on growing pigs from the perspective of a brain-intestinal axis. Twenty-four growing pigs of similar weight were divided into Control, FB1 (5 mg FB1/kg feed), and FumDSB (5 mg FB1/kg and 0.1% FumDSB in the feed) groups. After 42 days of feeding, hypothalamus and jejunum samples were collected for quantitative real-time fluorescence, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. The results showed that FB1 consumption can destruct the tissue structure of hypothalamus and jejunum, affect the expression and distribution of several appetite-related neuropeptides and inflammatory cytokines, thereby inducing neuroinflammatory responses and affecting food intake and weight gain. However, these anorexia effects and inflammatory responses are alleviated when FumDSB is added to the feed. In short, FumDSB can alleviate the inflammatory response induced by FB1 in growing pigs.
Keywords: Fumonisin B1; anorexia; brain–gut regulation; carboxylesterase; inflammatory cytokines.