The insensitive mechanism of poultry to zearalenone: A review

Zearalenone (ZEN) is one of the most common contaminating mycotoxins and is mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum. ZEN and its metabolites can interfere with estrogen function and affect animals' reproductive ability. Pigs are most susceptible to ZEN, and ZEN is less harmful to poultry than to pigs. The exact mechanism for the difference in susceptibility remains unclear. In this review, we summarized some possible reasons for the relative insensitivity of poultry to ZEN, such as the lower total amount of α-zearalenol (α-ZOL) and the α-ZOL-to-β-ZOL ratio which reduce the toxicity of ZEN to poultry. The faster hepatic and enteric circulation, and excretion capacity in poultry can excrete more ZEN and its metabolites. There are other possible factors such as the transformation of intestinal microorganisms, differences in hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases' activity, high estrogen levels, and low estrogen receptors affinity which can also cause poultry to be relatively insensitive to ZEN. In this review, we summarized the hazards, pollution status, metabolic pathways, and some measures to mitigate ZEN's harmfulness. Specifically, we discussed the possible mechanisms of low reproductive toxicity by ZEN in poultry.