Cyadox is an
antibiotic drug and has the potential to be used as a feedstuff additive in promoting the growth of animals. However, the toxicity of
cyadox should be fully assessed before application, and this has prompted the current investigation on the metabolic responses of mice to
cyadox exposure, using a metabonomic technique. Three groups of Kunming mice were respectively given a single dose of
cyadox at three different concentrations (100, 650, and 4000 mg/kg
body weight) via gavage. We present here the metabolic alterations of urine, plasma, liver, and renal medulla extracts induced by
cyadox exposure. The metabolic alterations induced by
cyadox exposure are dose-dependent, and metabolic recovery is achieved only for low and moderate levels of
cyadox exposure during the experimental period.
Cyadox exposure resulted in a disturbance of gut microbiota, which is manifested in depleted levels of urinary
hippurate,
trimethylamine-N-oxide (
TMAO),
dimethylamine (DMA), and
trimethylamine (TMA). In addition, mice exposed to
cyadox at high levels caused accumulations of
amino acids and depletions of
nucleotides in the liver. Furthermore, marked elevations of
nucleotides and a range of organic osmolytes, such as myo-
inositol,
choline, and glycerophosphocholine (GPC), and decreased levels of
amino acids are observed in the renal medulla of
cyadox-exposed mice. These results suggest that
cyadox exposure causes inhibition of
amino acid metabolism in the liver and disturbance of gut microbiota community, influencing osmolytic homeostasis and
nucleic acids synthesis in both the liver and the kidney. Our work provides a comprehensive view of the toxicological effects of
cyadox, which is important in animal and human food safety.