Mycotoxins in animal feed

Many species of fungi produce secondary metabolites called mycotoxins. These toxins can be very detrimental to both humans and animals. The side-effects of ingesting these toxic substances are called mycotoxicosis, which can be a variety of medical conditions. The most common fungi that produce mycotoxins include Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium.

Some other fungi that are known to produce mycotoxins include Claviceps and Alternaria.

There are six known types of mycotoxins that affect animals.

The most common mycotoxin is aflatoxin. It can be very carcinogenic to both humans and animals. Aflatoxin is produced by two species of Aspergillus, A. flavus and A. parasiticus, which are known to affect plants including cereal grains, figs, nuts, and tobacco. Cereal grains are one of the main ingredient in animal feed. The animals most at risk of having serious problems with aflatoxins are trout, ducklings, and pigs, while cattle are less at risk.

Another animal feed product is grass and animals including cattle, sheep, and horses eat tons of it. Ergot alkaloids are associated with grasses that are produced in a structure of Claviceps called the sclerotia. Some of the conditions that result from ergot ingestion in animals include gangrene, abortion, convulsions, hypersensitivity, and ataxia.

Fumonisins were the most recent mycotoxin found to affect humans and animals negatively. The most produced toxin for this group of fungi is fumonisin B1. Studies have shown that it can cause diseases such as equine leukoencephalomalacia in horses, hydrothorax and porcine pulmonary edema in swine, and it can negatively affect the immune system.

Studies on mycotoxins show that there are three ways to preventing them from contaminating fungi. The first occurs before there is a possibility of fungal infection. The second is when the fungi are starting to produce the toxins. And the final way to prevent contamination is when the material is known to be heavily infected.

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Wikipedia