Metabolism, distribution, and excretion of deoxynivalenol with combined techniques of radiotracing, high-performance liquid chromatography ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and online radiometric detection.

Dispositions of deoxynivalenol (DON) in rats and chickens were investigated, using a radiotracer method coupled with a novel γ-accurate radioisotope counting (γ-ARC) radio-high-performance liquid chromatography ion trap time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (radio-HPLC-IT-TOF-MS/MS) system. 3β-(3)H-DON was chemically synthesized and orally administrated to both sexes of rats and chickens as single or multiple doses. The results showed that DON was widely distributed and quickly eliminated in all tissues. The highest concentration was found in the gastrointestinal tract at 6 h post-administration. Substantially lower levels were detected in the kidney, liver, heart, lung, spleen, and brain. Three new metabolites were identified tentatively as 10-deoxynivalenol-sulfonate, 10-deepoxy-deoxynivalenol (DOM-1)-sulfonate, and deoxynivalenol-3α-sulfate. Deoxynivalenol-3α-sulfate was a major metabolite in chickens, while the major forms in rats were DOM-1 and DON. Additionally, a higher excretion rate in urine was observed in female rats than in male rats. The differences in metabolite profiles and excretion rates, which suggested diverse ways to detoxify, may relate to the different tolerances in different genders or species.