Effect of zearalenone on dairy cows

Doses of 99% pure zearalenone (0.0, 31.25, 62.5, 125.0, 250.0, or 500.0 mg) in gelatin capsules were given once a day per os to 18 nonpregnant, nonlactating, multiparous dairy cows for 2 consecutive estrous cycles. There was no effect (P less than 0.10) on serum progesterone concentrations, RBC, WBC, PCV, hemoglobin, and estrous cycle length. Differential cell counts, clinical health, and sexual behavior were not affected by the zearalenone. One cow from each of the groups given zearalenone and a control were euthanatized at the end of the study. The zearalenone had no effect on the terminal bone marrow smears and did not induce any gross lesions discernible at necropsy or any microscopic lesions in representative samples of 30 tissues/cow. Rectal palpation of the reproductive tracts once a week indicated that the corpora lutea were small in cows given zearalenone. There was a general trend to increased hemoglobin concentrations in cows given the larger doses of zearalenone. Zearalenone of and by itself does not seem to be an important factor in dairy cow health.