Abstract
Zearalenone (ZEN) and its metabolites are important nonsteroidal estrogenic mycotoxins that cause reproductive disorders in domestic animals, especially pigs. We aimed to simultaneously detect ZEN and its metabolites α-zearalenol (α-ZOL) and β-zearalenol (β-ZOL) in porcine follicular fluid (FF) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. ZEN and α-ZOL, but not β-ZOL, were detected in all pooled FF samples collected from coexisting follicles (diameter ≥ 6 mm) within 10 ovaries. Furthermore, ZEN and α-ZOL were detected in samples pretreated with β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase, but not in those left untreated, suggesting that the FF samples contained glucuronide-conjugated forms of the mycotoxins that may be less harmful to porcine oocytes due to glucuronidation affecting the receptor binding. Nonetheless, the effects of the glucuronide-conjugated forms should be studied, both in vitro and in vivo.
