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. 2023 Feb 22;15(3):172.
doi: 10.3390/toxins15030172.

Co-Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Feed for Cattle, Pigs, Poultry, and Sheep in Navarra, a Region of Northern Spain

Borja Muñoz-Solano  1 , Elena González-Peñas  1
Affiliations

Co-Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Feed for Cattle, Pigs, Poultry, and Sheep in Navarra, a Region of Northern Spain

Borja Muñoz-Solano et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

Mycotoxins, toxic compounds produced by fungi on raw materials, such as cereals, represent a serious health hazard. Animals are exposed to them mainly through the ingestion of contaminated feed. This study presents data about the presence and co-occurrence of nine mycotoxins: aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, ochratoxins A and B, zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), and sterigmatocystin (STER), in 400 samples of compound feed for cattle, pigs, poultry, and sheep (100 samples each) collected in Spain (2019-2020). Aflatoxins, ochratoxins, and ZEA were quantified using a previously validated HPLC method using fluorescence detection; whereas DON and STER were quantified using ELISA. Moreover, the obtained results were compared with those obtained in this country and published in the last 5 years. The mycotoxin presence in Spanish feed, especially for ZEA and DON, has been demonstrated. The maximum individual levels found were: AFB1: 6.9 µg/kg in a sample of feed for poultry; OTA: 65.5 µg/kg in a sample of feed for pigs, DON: 887 µg/kg in a sample of feed for sheep, and ZEA: 816 µg/kg in a sample of feed for pigs. Nevertheless, regulated mycotoxins appear, in general, at levels below those regulated by the EU; in fact, the percentage of samples containing concentrations above these limits was very low (from 0% for DON to 2.5% for ZEA). The co-occurrence of mycotoxins has also been demonstrated: 63.5% of the analyzed samples presented detectable levels of two to five mycotoxins. Due to the fact that the distribution of mycotoxins in raw materials can change greatly from year to year with climate conditions or market globalization, regular mycotoxin monitorization in feed is needed to prevent the integration of contaminated materials in the food chain.

Keywords: LC-FLD; aflatoxins; co-occurrence; deoxynivalenol; feed; ochratoxin A; sterigmatocystin; zearalenone.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Superposition of a chromatogram of a natural feed sample for cattle (blue) with one from a calibrator at 2.5× limit of quantification (red).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Superposition of a chromatogram of a natural feed sample for pigs (blue) with one from a calibrator at 2.5× limit of quantification (red).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Superposition of a chromatogram of a natural feed sample for poultry (blue) with one from a calibrator at 2.5× limit of quantification (red).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Superposition of a chromatogram of a natural feed sample for sheep (blue) with one from a calibrator at 2.5× limit of quantification (red).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Percentage of samples contaminated with each mycotoxin in the different types of feed.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Number of co-occurring mycotoxins in each feed type.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Percentage of samples containing detectable levels of two mycotoxins.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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