Abstract
In order to remove zearalenone (ZEA) detriment-Bacillus subtilis, Candida utilis, and cell-free extracts from Aspergillus oryzae were used to degrade ZEA in this study. The orthogonal experiment in vitro showed that the ZEA degradation rate was 92.27% (p < 0.05) under the conditions that Candida utilis, Bacillus subtilis SP1, and Bacillus subtilis SP2 were mixed together at 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.0%. When cell-free extracts from Aspergillus oryzae were combined with the above probiotics at a ratio of 2:1 to make mycotoxin-biodegradation preparation (MBP), the ZEA degradation rate reached 95.15% (p < 0.05). In order to further investigate the MBP effect on relieving the negative impact of ZEA for pig production performance, 120 young pigs were randomly divided into 5 groups, with 3 replicates in each group and 8 pigs for each replicate. Group A was given the basal diet with 86.19 μg/kg ZEA; group B contained 300 μg/kg ZEA without MBP addition; and groups C, D, and E contained 300 μg/kg ZEA added with 0.05%, 0.10%, and 0.15% MBP, respectively. The results showed that MBP addition was able to keep gut microbiota stable. ZEA concentrations in jejunal contents in groups A and D were 89.47% and 80.07% lower than that in group B (p < 0.05), indicating that MBP was effective in ZEA biodegradation. In addition, MBP had no significant effect on pig growth, nutrient digestibility, and the relative mRNA abundance of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) genes in ovaries and the uterus (p > 0.05).