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Digital Re-print - November | December 2011 Mycotoxins an overview

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It has been estimated that 25 percent of the crops in the world are contaminated with mycotoxins. And this results in an

annual loss of foodstuffs of over 1,000,000 tonnes according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation).

Let’s have a look at what mycotoxins are, what sub-types there are, what they do and how a consistent mycotoxin policy can help minimise the damage.

What are mycotoxins? Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabo-

lites produced by organisms of the fungus kingdom - commonly known as moulds - such as Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillin.

One mould species may produce many different mycotoxins and/or the same myco-toxin as another species. They infect crops in the field, can grow on feed or food as it is stored if the environmental conditions (such as temperature and humidity) are favorable.

Although thousands of different myco-

toxins have been identified, only 300 are detectable by regular analytical tests. The major mycotoxins are:

1. Aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) 2. Ochratoxins (OTA) 3. Zearalenone (ZEA) 4. Trichothecenes (DON also known as

Vomitoxin, T2)

5 Fumonisins (FA1, FA2, Fb1, FB2, FB3 and FB) Most mycotoxins are region-specific. For

example DON is mostly found in Europe and North America, while aflatoxins are mostly found in the Southern hemisphere.

The effects of mycotoxinsDifferent mycotoxins have different harmful effects. The consumption of feed containing mycotoxins can lead to numerous problems including reduced immune response, infertility and liver and kidney damage.

Aflatoxins are synthesized by Aspergillus spp. and can severely damage the health of animals. In poultry liver damage, inferior egg shell and carcass quality and increased susceptibility to disease are the major symp-toms.

In pigs the main symptoms after high doses of aflatoxins are feed refusal, reduced weight gain, liver and kidney lesions. Furthermore, aflatoxins can alter the immune response and animal performance.

Ochratoxins (OTA) are produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. and are toxic for the kidney where they cause necrosis of the tubules. Off all the mycotoxins OTA is the most toxic for domestic poultry. It is even more deadly for poultry than aflatoxin.

In pigs OTA also causes kidney damage which can result in rejection of carcasses. It also affects boar fertility and can affect the unborn foetus. In newborn piglets tail necrosis is often a sign of OTA.

Zearolenone is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium moulds and has oestrogen-like activity in cattle, sheep and pigs.

This mimicking of female hormones leads to problems with ovulation, conception and foetal development. Poultry seems to be able to tolerated ZEA well, however turkeys are very sensitive.

Trichothecenes are also produced by Fusarium spp. In poultry T2 causes oral lesions which can be used as a field diagnosis.

Furthermore T2 toxin can cause nervous symptoms as well as abnormal feathering, decreased feed intake and egg production.

Don and T2 are the most harmful to pigs. They can cause reduced productivity and even infertility in the sow. In addition DON can cause acute diarrhea of suckling piglets with a high mortality.

Fumonisins cause impaired immune func-tion, liver and kidney damage, decreased weight gain and increased mortality in most species. It would appear that poultry is less sensitive to the effect of the fumonisins than pigs. The toxin FB1 in swine leads to specific disease called porcine pulmonary oedema which affects heart and lungs.

It is also important to note that if feed is contaminated by more than one mycotoxin the effects can not only be additive but even syner-gistic meaning a far greater toxicity than expected on the basis of each mycotoxin on its own.

Mycotoxin management Besides good farming practice to prevent

mould growth and subsequent mycotoxin production it is essential that the producer knows the mycotoxin status of his feed.

There is an almost bewildering array of testing possibilities available for mycotoxins but they all stand or fall with the method of sampling.

At least 12-20 samples need to be taken from the feed taking care to include samples from the side where mould will more readily occur. These samples need then to be mixed thoroughly and a 500 gram sample can be taken and sent for testing.

Depending on the mycotoxin and the quantity that has been found, a suit-able adsorbent can be chosen to which the mycotoxines adhere and safely pass through the animal without causing harm.

Depending on geographical and envi-ronmental factors an absorbent could be indicated all year round or at known critical times.

Mycotoxins an overview

by Perstorp Performance Additives, The Netherlands

“Depending on the mycotoxin

and the quantity that has been

found, a suitable adsorbent can be

chosen to which the mycotoxines

adhere and safely pass through the

animal without causing harm”

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy20 | november - december 2011 Quality in your handswww.buchi.com

BÜCHI Labortechnik AG9230 Flawil/SwitzerlandT +41 71 394 63 63

Food and Feed Quality Control Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods

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Additional information is available on: www.buchi.com

XX__FoodFeed_A4_fullpage_en.indd 1 30/11/2011 06:58:10

FEATURE

GFMT11.06.indd 20 30/11/2011 17:29

Quality in your handswww.buchi.com

BÜCHI Labortechnik AG9230 Flawil/SwitzerlandT +41 71 394 63 63

Food and Feed Quality Control Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods Reference and Fast-Screening Methods

Discover the perfect interaction of BUCHI Instruments for food and feedquality control.

Solutions for protein analysis: BUCHI offers Kjeldahl Distillation and Digestion instruments ranging from basic to fully automated. Kjeldahl serves as reference method for protein determination using NIR Spectroscopy. The NIRMaster is the fi rst FT-NIR spectrometer, enabling rapid non-destructive determination of protein content at the production line or in the QC lab.

Solutions for fat analysis: For fat determination explore the unique automated Soxhlet or Hot Extraction instruments. These classical extraction techniques serve as reference methods for fat determination using NIR Spectroscopy. The innovative NIRMaster is able to quantify fat content in just a few seconds per sample.

Additional information is available on: www.buchi.com

XX__FoodFeed_A4_fullpage_en.indd 1 30/11/2011 06:58:10GFMT11.06.indd 21 30/11/2011 17:29

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A subscription magazine for the global flour & feed milling industries - first published in 1891

In this issue:

• Mycotoxins an overview

• Database for animal diet formulation techniques: A glance to last decade

• Food safetyin the grain milling industry

• Recent advances in rapid grain testing

November - December 2011

• African advances

Animal feed milling is one of the most buoyant activities in the agri related field

• Optical sorting Optical sorting has come of

age and should be considered as a serious option for inclusion in any modern wheat cleaning plant

• Get in lineProcess analysis solutions open new opportunities for improved profit and quality

GFMT11.06.indd 1 30/11/2011 17:28

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