Effects of zearalenone produced by Fusarium spp. on the reproductive performance of immature mice

Abstract

ICR female mice of 3 weeks old after birth were fed with diet containing 50 or 100 ppm zearalenone between 3 and 8 weeks of age. Vaginal opening was hastened, followed by continuous estrous phase with vulval swelling for 1 and 2 weeks in 50 and 100 ppm group, respectively. The uterus was enlarged with the hyperplastic endometrium. The ovary was small and the number of corpora lutea was smaller than controls. These findings were normalized after 5 weeks, despite of continuous ingestion of zearalenone. Among the treated female mice, fetal death and/or premature delivery was observed after the mating with control males. These results indicate estrogenic effects of zearalenone on mice as reported on pigs.