Zearalenone (ZEA) mainly contaminates grains such as corn and wheat, causing damage to livestock through ingestion of contaminated feed. Recently, various
clays have been added to the feed to adsorb
mycotoxins and to prevent
mycotoxicosis of animals fed contaminated feeds. However the adsorption mechanism of the
mycotoxin to
clay is not well understood. In this study, a method to analyze the level of adsorption of ZEA to
clay was developed using Japanese
acid clay. Changes to the amount of the
clay, concentration of ZEA, shaking time, and other parameters were evaluated to determine their influence on adsorption. The adsorption isotherms were also developed. Under conditions that mimic the gastrointestinal tract of swine, 100 % of ZEA was adsorbed to
clay at a pH equivalent to the stomach, while the level of desorption under intestinal basic conditions was 1.8 %. Thus Japanese
acid clay has a high ability to absorb ZEA with very little desorption under gastrointestinal conditions of the swine. Isothermal analysis suggests that the Japanese
acid clay is potentially highly efficacious as a ZEA adsorbent.