title: Transfer of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from various herbs to eggs and meat in laying hens.
abstract: To investigate the potential transfer of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), laying hens were fed for 14 days with diets containing 0.5% of dried common ragwort, common groundsel, narrow-leaved ragwort or viper's bugloss, or 0.1% of common heliotrope. This resulted in total PA levels in feed of respectively 5.5, 11.1, 53.1, 5.9 and 21.7 mg kg-1, with varying composition. PAs were transferred to eggs, in particular yolk, with steady-state levels of respectively 12, 21, 216, 2 and 36 µg kg-1. Overall transfer rates for the sum of PAs were estimated between 0.02% and 0.23%, depending on the type of PAs in the feed. In animals slaughtered shortly after the last exposure, levels in meat were slightly lower than those in eggs, levels in livers somewhat higher. When switched to clean feed, levels in eggs gradually decreased, but after 14 days were still above detection limits in the hens exposed to higher PA levels. Similar was the case for meat and especially kidneys and livers. It is concluded that the intake of PA containing herbs by laying hens may result in levels in eggs and meat that could be of concern for consumers, and as such should be avoided.
authors.affiliation: a RIKILT Wageningen University & Research , Wageningen , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Patrick P J
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.affiliation: a RIKILT Wageningen University & Research , Wageningen , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Susannah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: de Witte
authors.affiliation: a RIKILT Wageningen University & Research , Wageningen , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Geert M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Stoopen
authors.affiliation: b Wageningen Livestock Research , Lelystad , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Meulen
authors.affiliation: b Wageningen Livestock Research , Lelystad , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Piet G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: van Wikselaar
authors.affiliation: a RIKILT Wageningen University & Research , Wageningen , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gruys
authors.affiliation: a RIKILT Wageningen University & Research , Wageningen , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Groot
authors.affiliation: a RIKILT Wageningen University & Research , Wageningen , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ron L A P
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hoogenboom
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D004531:Eggs / Q000032:analysis*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids
keywords: Pyrrolizidine alkaloids; eggs; laying hens; liver; meat; transfer