94% of animal feed is contaminated by mycotoxins which can cause major harm to your animals’ health and performance. Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by fungi infecting crops in the field as well as during storage and can be found on almost all agricultural commodities worldwide.
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Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi. Secondary metabolites means that they are not essential in the normal metabolic function of the fungus. Still mycotoxins are produced on almost all agricultural commodities worldwide. Over 1000 different mycotoxins and fungal metabolites have already been identified and many of these substances still need to be investigated.
Mycotoxins can be already produced on the field (“pre-harvest”) and during storage (typically after harvest). Some of the most common and well known mycotoxins are: aflatoxins, trichothecenes such as deoxynivalenol and T-2 toxin, fumonisins, zearalenone, ochratoxin and ergot alkaloids.
Effects of mycotoxins on animals are diverse and range from carcinogenicity, hepatoxicity and neurotoxicity to impaired reproduction, digestive disorders, immunomodulation and decreased performance. Clinical signs can be seen at high levels of mycotoxin contamination but more frequently we observe subclinical effects. Already moderate levels of mycotoxins, especially during chronic exposure, can negatively affect the animals. Mycotoxins influence the immune system, the integrity of the gut barrier and act as predisposing factors for disease.
Mycotoxins are produced by different strains of fungi and each strain can produce more than one mycotoxin. Therefore, co-contamination of crops with several mycotoxins is very likely. This co-occurrence can lead to even more detrimental effects on the animals.
Mycotoxins are invisible, tasteless, chemically stable and resistant to temperature and storage. They are highly resistant and thus cannot be removed or detoxified during the normal feed manufacturing processes. A good mycotoxin risk management is crucial and should include mycotoxin detection and other services as well as solutions to counteract the various different mycotoxins in the feed.
Uncovering which mycotoxins regularly contaminate poultry feed and the harm caused by mycotoxicosis in poultry
Mycotoxins in poultry feed pose a constant threat to the poultry industry globally. Many of the feed ingredients found in typical poultry rations can be contaminated by harmful mycotoxins that are ingested by birds and have a number of serious consequences.
Some fungi produce mycotoxins on the field, while other fungi produce mycotoxins during the storage of grains.
The most common poultry feed ingredients contaminated by mycotoxins include:
Poultry
Effects of mycotoxins on the health of poultry
Meaning of abbreviations:
DON: Deoxynivalenol | ZEN: Zearalenone | AFB1: Aflatoxin B1 | FUM: Fumonisins | T-2: T-2 Toxin | HT-2: HT-2 Toxin | NIV: Nivalenol | DAS: Diacetoxyscirpenol | OTA: Ochratoxin A | Ergots: Ergot Alkaloids
Enlarged and pale yellowish liver with yellow nodules observed in birds fed with aflatoxin contaminated feed. Aflatoxins were detected in the feed at 153 ppb
Aflatoxins are known to have a hepatotoxic effect in poultry and also a hepatocarcinogenic effect in exposed animals. The most common pathological lesions associated with aflatoxicosis in poultry are found in the liver, lymphoid organs, and testes, often occurring over a period of chronic exposure. In acute-subacute aflatoxicosis, the liver appears enlarged, pale yellow in color, friable, and usually the gall bladder is also enlarged and filled with bile.
Several factors increase a bird’s susceptibility to mycotoxins, such as:
Mycotoxin susceptibility
The effects of mycotoxins in poultry are very complex and varies greatly according to their mechanism of toxicity affecting several organs and, in case of high contamination levels, may even lead to death of animals. When mycotoxins are present simultaneously in feed, they may have synergistic or additive effects.
Even at low levels of mycotoxins in feed, during sensitive period of production cycle or when exposed for long periods, can impair the immune system leading to the immune suppressive conditions. Aflatoxins, ochratoxin, trichothecenes, and fumonisins are known to induce immune suppressive effects in chickens, rendering them more susceptible to diseases (Singh et al., 1990, Ghosh et al., 1991). In addition, low level of mycotoxins can have an antimicrobial effect and can cause feed passage (Devegowda and Murthy, 2005).
AFB1 - Aflatoxin B1 ; FB1 – Fumonisin B1 ; DON – Deoxynivalenol; OTA – Ochratoxin A; ZEN – Zearalenone; FA – Fusaric acid; DAS – Diacetoxyscirpenol; CPA – Cyclopiazonic acid; MON – Moniliformin
Additive (dashed black line) and synergistic (red line) effects in poultry
Any mycotoxins present in feed are delivered straight to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of the birds, the organ most affected by mycotoxins. The gastrointestinal tract is the most important organ for converting feed into energy, and its ability to function properly is directly linked to poultry productivity. Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is also the biggest immune organ in the body system.
Fusarium mycotoxins specially DON (deoxynivalenol) and FUM (fumonisins) Impact the intestinal morphology by increasing villus fusion and decreasing tight junctions formation. These effects lead to a ‘leaky gut’ condition which increases the proliferation of secondary pathogens as Coccidiosis, Necrotic Enteritis, E. coli, Salmonella sp. Moreover the intestinal surface for nutrient absorption is prejudiced Therefore mycotoxins are closely related to some important poultry diseases and performance.
Figure 4. Consequences of mycotoxin contamination on GIT condition
Immunotoxic substances such as mycotoxins are unsuspected players in the failure of vaccines to provoke a proper immune response.
DON and its co-occurrence with FUM are known to modulate the immune function. One good example is the reduction in the number of antibody titres against vaccine programs in poultry. Several research results have shown that DON and FUM reduce antibody response to Newcastle Disease (ND) and Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV). In one experiment conducted in Austria, the feeding of a DON-contaminated diet decreased serum antibody titres against the IBV vaccine (Figure 4) compared to the control diet.
Mycofix® was able to counteract the effects of deoxnivalenol on IBV antibody titres in broilers.
Figure 5. Effect of DON and Mycofix® Select on IBV antibody titres in broiler chickens
Week one chicks are at a crucial stage with seemingly minor issues having the potential to determine their health prospects in both the short and long term. Development of the intestinal tract and an active immune system is the central foundation of a healthy bird’s life, and it is exactly that which is at risk from early exposure to mycotoxins. Interference at this stage, even if low-level, can have disastrous results at a later stage. Low mycotoxin doses can combine with environmental stressors, even if they are out of the rearer’s control.
This combination can result in invisible losses, with subclinical effects that include:
Interested in more about the mycotoxin risk in 1-week-old chicks. Contact us.
Clinical signs and pathological lesions on primary target organs can be used as an early warning system (EWS) for mycotoxin contamination in feed/raw materials.
Mycotoxin-induced illness, or mycotoxicosis, may be difficult to directly observe. There are several common clinical signs and pathological lesions of mycotoxicoses in poultry.
Signs of mycotoxin ingestion by birds include:
Even though the effects of mycotoxins are very complex and there is a great variation in possible symptoms, target organs, and pathological lesions from one mycotoxin to the other (Naehrer, 2012), presumptive diagnosis can be based on clinical signs, pathological lesions on target organs, especially when moldy ingredients or feed are evident.
Definitive diagnosis should be based on isolation, identification, and quantification of the specific mycotoxin/mycotoxins in feed ingredients or finished feed. Samples of feed and ingredients should be collected and promptly submitted for laboratory analysis. Multiple samples should be collected from different sites of mycotoxin formation zone (“hot spots”) (Whitaker et al., 2005, Krska and Schuhmacher, 2012).
Remarks by Charles Rangga Tabbu, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, during the poultry breakout session at the 2016 World Nutrition Forum in Vancouver, Canada.
When it comes to counteracting mycotoxins, the poultry industry tends to think of toxin binders or mycotoxin binders first.
However, clay mineral binders are not an effective answer to all major mycotoxins. Especially not against trichothecenes mycotoxins since their structures are not suitable for adsorbing by binders. Biotransformation using microbes and enzymes is the most effective strategy. It provides reliable protection against mycotoxins, biodegrading them into non-toxic metabolites. The biotransformation is fast, specific and irreversible.
In addition to biotransformation, a bioprotection strategy is also important. Variety of feed additives is available that contains plant and algae extracts to provide a hepato-protective effect and to overcome the immune suppression caused by mycotoxins. A combination of different strategies can counteract the negative effects of mycotoxins in poultry more completely, especially in cases of multi-mycotoxin contamination with the poorly absorbed fusarium mycotoxins in poultry feed.
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