They are mold products (secondary metabolites) which have toxic effect on humans and animals, and are found in grain, animal feed, hay, silage, and haylage.
Molds, and therfore mycotoxins are found everywhere in nature. Mold development occurs in the field, and continues in warehouses, especially in feed which is mechanically damaged or not dry enough.
Molds decrease nutritional value in feed by degradation of easily digestable organic matter, and therfore increase the risk of toksins which are excreted by molds. Strong known toxins are:
AFLATOXINS – mycotoxins which are found in various species of Aspergilus, in many types of human and animal food. They are dangerous to young and pregnant animals, as well as to poultry. They are excreted in milk of contaminated animal. They cause weaker growth in animals, diarrhea, lower milk production, and act carcinogenic.
OHRATOXINS – metabolites of molds Aspergilus and Penicillium, they are also called „warehouse molds“. They are found in grain and legumes. Strong humidity suits them, and they are found in corn together with other mycotoxins – aflatoxins, zearalenon and trihotecenin. They cause inflammation of the kidneys and liver ailments, and are excreted in milk, and create residue in tissue (meat) of animals fed with contaminated feed.
Ohratoxins do not decompose by heat treatment.
Fuzariotoxins – they are a product of mold Fuzarium, and most common are zearalenon and trihotecenin, which are developed in the field
Zearalenons are estrogenic metabolites of Fuzaria mold, that animals menifest as false pursuit, vulva and vagina edema, udder swelling, weigh of birth canal and rear bowel, miscarriage, weaker growth and less milk production.
In feed for adult cattle it is allowed to give content of maximally 5 mg zearlenon/kg, and in feed for dairy cows 3 mg/kg.
Zearalenons are excreted in milk five more days after feeding stops, and are equally carcinogenic as estradiol.
Trihotecens – they can be created by many sorts of Fuzaria mold, as well as some other mold sorts.
They damage skin, mucous membranes of the digestive and reproductive organs, nervous system, liver and other organs.
They are found in grain and in dried meat products.
How to prevent and treat mycotoxicosis?
Bacteria and mold are found in lareg number of feed, so they pose great threat to animal health, and to people who use products of animal origin.
Suppression of molds and destroying mycotoxins in feed are usually not successful, and apart from that the feed is of limited use because it is harmful to animal and human health. To fight bacteria and mold some agents for conserving feed can be used, such as propionic acid or mixture of other acids (MI-COFARM and others).
For recovery of voluminously feed alkalis, ammonia and UBEA 70 (Feldhofer 1989) can be used. Mycotoxins are very resistant and are hard to destroy physically or chemically because they stay preserved in form of strong poisons.
Mycotoxins are not destroyed by silage.
How to treat mycotoxicosis?
Veterinary medicine has not provided a solution to this problem because there is no cure for mycotoxicoses.
THE ONLY WAY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM IS USING MYCOTOXINS ADSORBENT
If you are fighting mycotoxins use our mycotoxin zeolite based adsorbents – Mineral Detox and Min-A-Zel Plus D. They act so that during the ionic exchange within the zeolite crystal lattice essential minerals (calcium, magnesium, natrium, potassium and others) are released in animal organism, and mycotoxins and other harmful particles (heavy metals, radioactive particles, poisons) are bound within the zeolite crystal lattice, and are excreted with excrement. Zeolites are natural minerals which apart from ion exchange property have other beneficial effects for animal organism: they regulate pH of animal organism, which supports the growth and development of positive micropopulation in the digestive system of animals, increase reproduction and health of offspring, increase milk and meat production and quality, prevent diarrhea, improves the health of the animals.