Abstract
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin that affects the intestinal morphology of animals, impairing nutrient intake and growth. On the other hand, dietary supplementation with functional oligosaccharides as chito-oligosaccharides (COS) has shown positive effects on the intestinal health of piglets. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of low doses of COS in preventing DON-induced intestinal histological changes, using a swine jejunal explant technique. The intestinal explants were incubated at 37 °C in culture medium for 4 h and exposed to the following treatments: (a) control (only culture medium), (b) DON (10 µM), (c) 25COS (0.025 mg·mL−1 of COS); (d) 50COS (0.05 mg·mL−1 of COS); (e) 25COS plus DON (25COS + DON); (f) 50COS plus DON (50COS + DON). Explants exposed to COS presented intestinal morphology similar to control samples. DON induced a significant decrease in the histological score as a consequence of moderate to severe histological changes (apical necrosis, villi atrophy, and fusion) and a significant decrease in morphometric parameters (villi height, crypt depth, villi height:crypt depth ratio, and goblet cells density). The intestinal morphology of samples exposed to COS + DON remained similar to DON treatment. In conclusion, low levels of COS did not counteract DON-induced intestinal lesions.