Short Communication: Quantification of the Effect of Mycotoxin Binders on the Bioavailability of Fat-Soluble Vitamins In Vitro

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Mycotoxins are frequently found in animal feeds. Mycotoxicosis are often subclinical and difficult to diagnose, but result in important production losses. Mycotoxin binders are used to reduce their impact on health and performance. However, the unspecific mechanism of adsorption may also bind other essential nutrients, including vitamins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of six mycotoxin binders on the bioavailability of fat-soluble vitamins by simulating the gastro intestinal digestion in vitro. The adsorption tests indicate that many mycotoxin binders adsorb a considerable proportion of vitamin E but not vitamin D, whereas the low recovery rate of vitamin A did not allow the quantification of its adsorption. ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to determine the capacity of six mycotoxin binders (MTBs) to adsorb vitamins A, D and E in an in vitro system that simulates gastric and intestinal digestion. Experiment 1 evaluated the recovery rate of vitamins A, D and E in the incubation conditions. In Experiment 2, the main factors were the MTB (bentonite, clinoptilolite, sepiolite, montmorillonite, active carbon and yeast cell walls), vitamins (A, D and E) and incubation type (vitamins incubated separately or together). The recovery was high for vitamin D (83%) and E (93%), but low for vitamin A (23%), for which no further analyses were conducted. When incubated separately, vitamin D was only adsorbed by yeast cell wall (20.2%). Vitamin E adsorption was highest with bentonite (54.5%) and montmorillonite (46.3%) and lowest with sepiolite (16.6%) and active carbon (18.5%). When incubated together, vitamin D was not adsorbed by any MTB. Vitamin E adsorption was highest in bentonite (61.8%) and montmorillonite (50.7%) and lowest in sepiolite (15.4%). Results indicate that the bioavailability of vitamin E, but not that of vitamin D, may be reduced in the presence of MTBs.