Gossypol, a phenolic compound found in the cotton plant, is widely distributed in cottonseed by-products. Although ruminant animals are believed to be more tolerant of gossypol toxicity than monogastric animals due to rumen microbial fermentation, the actual mechanisms of detoxification remain unclear. In contrast, the metabolic detoxification of gossypol by Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae has achieved great advances. The present review discusses the clinical signs of gossypol in ruminant animals, as well as summarizing advances in the study of gossypol detoxification in the rumen. It also examines the regulatory roles of several key enzymes in gossypol detoxification and transformation known in H. armigera. With the rapid development of modern molecular biotechnology and -omics technology strategies, evidence increasingly indicates that research into the biological degradation of gossypol in H. armigera larvae and some microbes, in terms of these key enzymes, could provide scientific insights that would underpin future work on microbial gossypol detoxification in the rumen, with the ultimate aim of further alleviating gossypol toxicity in ruminant animals.

棉酚是一种在棉花植物中发现的酚类化合物，广泛分布在棉籽副产品中。尽管由于瘤胃微生物发酵，反刍动物被认为比单胃动物更耐受棉酚毒性，但解毒的实际机制仍不清楚。相比之下，棉铃虫（鳞翅目：夜蛾科）幼虫对棉酚的代谢解毒取得了很大进展。本综述讨论了反刍动物中棉酚的临床症状，并总结了瘤胃中棉酚解毒研究的进展。它还检查了几种关键酶在棉铃虫中已知的棉酚解毒和转化中的调节作用. 随着现代分子生物技术和组学技术战略的快速发展，越来越多的证据表明，研究棉酚在棉铃虫幼虫和一些微生物中的生物降解，就这些关键酶而言，可以提供科学见解，为未来的工作奠定基础。关于瘤胃微生物棉酚解毒的研究，最终目的是进一步减轻反刍动物的棉酚毒性。