The Metabolism of the Mycotoxin Zearalenone and Its Effects on the Reproductive Tracts of Young Male and Female Pigs

Young male and female pigs were dosed orally with either 0, 5, 10 or 15 mg/kg BW of purified zearalenone. Blood samples taken for the next 7 h contained both conjugated zearalenone (139–317 ng/mL) and α-zearalenol (65–319 ng/mL). In most cases the zearalenone concentration exceeded that of α-zearalenol. Urine samples collected from male pigs contained high levels of conjugated zearalenone (42–197 μg/mL) and α-zearalenol (5–80 μg/mL). One week later, reproductive tracts of females that had received the zearalenone were greatly enlarged compared with controls. Male reproductive tracts tended to be smaller in animals receiving the toxin compared with controls.