How do mycotoxins affect animals?
At lower concentrations, the effects of mycotoxins are more protean. They reduce the growth rate of young animals, and some interfere with native mechanisms of resistance and impair immunologic responsiveness, making the animals more susceptible to infection.
What are mycotoxins in cattle?
Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by fungi (molds) growing on crops in the field or in storage. Only a few mold species produce mycotoxins out of the thousands of molds that grow on stored grains and forages.
How do you treat mycotoxins in cattle?
The best way to treat mycotoxicosis is to prevent the growth of molds on feed and raw materials during storage. Mold inhibitors can be used to prevent the growth and spreading of molds and can help eliminate the costs associated with mold damage each year.
What are the sources of mycotoxins in milk?
Mycotoxins are produced pre harvest by some molds and secreted into various food items of plant origin, such cereals, vegetables, spices, coffee and nuts. If the food items are not stored under adequate conditions, a post harvest contamination may also occur.
How do mycotoxins get into animal feed?
Molds that can create mycotoxins in animal feed develop on various foodstuffs, including nuts, dried fruits, cereals, coffee beans, apples, and spices. This mold development can occur before harvest, after harvest, during storage, or on the food under warm and humid conditions.
What is the danger of fumonisins?
Fumonisins can have significant health effects in livestock and other animals. While the evidence for adverse health effects in humans is currently inconclusive, there are concerns that exposure to fumonisins may contribute to various serious adverse health outcomes such as cancer and birth defects.
What are the types of mycotoxin?
Several hundred different mycotoxins have been identified, but the most commonly observed mycotoxins that present a concern to human health and livestock include aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, fumonisins, zearalenone and nivalenol/deoxynivalenol.
Do mycotoxins break down over time?
Most mycotoxins do break down and lose their toxicity over time. But some take years like the Trichothecene Group (produced by Stachybotrys molds) is very stable and the most resilient of the mycotoxins.
What is the difference between aflatoxin and mycotoxin?
The key difference between aflatoxin and mycotoxin is that aflatoxin is a type of poisonous mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus species, while mycotoxin is a secondary metabolite produced by fungi that are capable of causing diseases and death in humans and other animals.
How many mycotoxins are there?
300 mycotoxins
Presently, over 300 mycotoxins have been identified and reported; however, only a few regularly contaminate food and animal feedstuffs. These are aflatoxins (AF), ochratoxins (OT), fumonisins, patulin, zearalenone (ZEA), and trichothecenes including deoxynivalenol (DON) and T-2 toxin [6,7].
Which mycotoxin is a major concern in animal feeds and why?
The most common mycotoxins found were deoxynivalenol and fumonisin. Table 1 in the linked article shows extruded pet food results at risk of contamination in different countries. Some cat foods went over the regulatory limit for aflatoxin B1.