Evaluation of the nutritional value of corn contaminated with deoxynivalenol and irradiated with electron beam and its effects on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, serum parameters, and intestinal permeability in piglets

Deoxynivalenol (DON) negatively affects the growth of piglets. Electron beam irradiation (EBI) has the potential to reduce the DON content in feeds. However, the quantitative effects of DON contamination and EBI on the nutritional value of corn remain unclear, as does the impact of this corn on piglet feeding. These experiments explored the effect of DON contamination and EBI treatment on the nutritional value of corn and the feeding effects of this corn on piglets. In Exp. 1, 40 piglets (initial weight: 14.88 ± 1.92 kg) were allotted to five experimental diets with eight replicates per diet. Five diets included four types of corn diets: normal corn (NC), DON-contaminated corn (DON-C), EBI-treated NC (EBI-NC), and EBI-treated DON-C (EBI-DON-C), and a nitrogen-free diet formulated to determine the basal endogenous loss of amino acids. In Exp. 2, 56 piglets (initial weight: 7.58 ± 0.35 kg) were randomly allocated to treatments arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with two types of corn (NC vs. DON-C) and two corn treatments (without EBI vs. EBI). There were four diets and seven replicate pens per diet, with two pigs per pen. The study found that both DON contamination and EBI treatment decreased the effective energy value of corn (<i>P</i> < 0.05), and EBI treatment also decreased the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of most amino acids (<i>P</i> < 0.05), whereas DON contamination had no negative effect on the SID of amino acids (Exp. 1). In Exp. 2, EBI-treated corn (EBI-C) increased the average daily gain (<i>P</i> = 0.001) and average daily feed intake (<i>P</i> < 0.001), while increased feed conversion ratio (FCR) (<i>P</i> < 0.001) and decreased nutrient digestibility (<i>P</i> < 0.05). DON-C had a positive impact on FCR (<i>P</i> = 0.005). Neither EBI-C nor DON-C affected serum biochemical parameters (<i>P</i> > 0.05). However, DON-C may induce oxidative stress, impair immune function, and disrupt intestinal barrier. In conclusion, EBI reduced the DON content of DON-C, while impacted the nutritional value of corn. Furthermore, DON-C reduced the antioxidant capacity and immune function of piglets to some extent, although it did not affect their growth performance.