title: The mycobiota and toxicity of equine feeds.
abstract: Feed contamination can lead to nutrient losses and detrimental effects on animal health and production. The purposes of this study were to investigate the mycobiota in equine mixed feeds and to determine natural contamination with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and fumonisin B1 (FB1). Fungal enumeration of equine feed samples was done. A commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit was applied to quantify AFB1 and FB1. A comparison between ELISA and HPLC was carried out. Feed mould counts ranged from <1 x 10(2) to 1 x 10(5) cfu/g. The most frequent genus isolated was Aspergillus (40.54%), followed by Penicillium (18.38%) and Fusarium (16.22%). The most prevalent Aspergillus sp. was A. flavus (36%). AFB1 values ranged between 0.01 and 99.4 microg/kg. FB(1) levels ranged between 0.01 and 7.49 microg/kg. HPLC and ELISA methods showed positive correlation for AFB1 and FB1 determinations (r = 0.9851 and r = 0.9791, respectively). The ELISA analytical method was efficient for AFB1 and FB1 detection. The scarcity of studies on natural fungal contamination and on the presence of AFB1 and FB1 in materials used as equine feed ingredients highlights the value and contribution of this study.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Veterinária, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Queiroz
authors.forename: L A M
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: J M M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Cavaglieri
authors.forename: M L González
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Pereyra
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dalcero
authors.forename: C A R
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D016604:Aflatoxin B1 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000662:veterinary; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D037341:Fumonisins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning; D005670:Fusarium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D006736:Horses; D010407:Penicillium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D037341:Fumonisins; C056933:fumonisin B1; D016604:Aflatoxin B1