A Review of the Impact of Mycotoxins on Dairy Cattle Health: Challenges for Food Safety and Dairy Production in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that contaminate food and feed and have a significant negative impact on human and animal health and productivity. The tropical condition in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) together with poor storage of feed promotes fungal growth and subsequent mycotoxin production. Aflatoxins (AF) produced by Aspergillus species, fumonisins (FUM), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2 toxin (T-2), and deoxynivalenol (DON) produced by Fusarium species, and ochratoxin A (OTA) produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus species are well-known mycotoxins of agricultural importance. Consumption of feed contaminated with these toxins may cause mycotoxicoses in animals, characterized by a range of clinical signs depending on the toxin, and losses in the animal industry. In SSA, contamination of dairy feed with mycotoxins has been frequently reported, which poses a serious constraint to animal health and productivity, and is also a hazard to human health since some mycotoxins and their metabolites are excreted in milk, especially aflatoxin M1. This review describes the major mycotoxins, their occurrence, and impact in dairy cattle diets in SSA highlighting the problems related to animal health, productivity, and food safety and the up-to-date post-harvest mitigation strategies for the prevention and reduction of contamination of dairy feed.

The Assessment of Diet Contaminated with Aflatoxin B1 in Juvenile Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) and the Evaluation of the Efficacy of Mitigation of a Yeast Cell Wall Extract

“…Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ), the secondary metabolite of fungi Aspergillus parasiticus and A. flavus [7], is one of the most harmful mycotoxins [8]. In poultry and livestock, the detrimental effects of AFB 1 include low productivity, high mortality of offspring, anorexia, poor growth, immune dysfunction, and AFB 1 residues in edible animal parts [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In fish, there were studies of various species exposed to AFB 1 .…”

Antidotal Potency of the Novel, Structurally Different Adsorbents in Rats Acutely Intoxicated with the T-2 Toxin

“…Additionally, particular symptoms observed during T-2 toxin intoxication, like lethargy and feed refusal, could be due to impairment within the central nervous system [ 52 ]. Partial or complete feed refusal, prolonged bloody diarrhea, and decreased gastrointestinal absorptive capacity were also registered in cattle [ 53 , 54 , 55 ]. Because of the complete refusal of feed, reduction of protein synthesis, and consequent weight loss, many organs were damaged, primarily the kidneys and liver, as well as the gastrointestinal and lymphatic tissue [ 4 , 34 ].…”

“…When a relatively high single dose of the T-2 toxin was administered, a significant decrease in body weight and food and water consumption was observed compared with the control group [ 19 , 44 ]. This could be explained by the loss of appetite, complete feed refusal, and substantial lesions in the tunica mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract accompanied by prolonged bloody diarrhea, which prevented food and water intake and its utilization [ 45 , 54 , 55 ].…”

The Presence of Mycotoxins in Feed and Their Influence on Animal Health

“…Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi. They are commonly detected in food, feed [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], and feed additives [ 5 ]. The presence of mycotoxins in food and feed is influenced by numerous factors, including plant species and variety, region, temperature, moisture content, insect damage, storage conditions, and agricultural practices.…”

“…The authors found that these mycotoxins compromised the gastrointestinal health of cattle during mixed mycotoxicosis and exerted unknown effects on the composition and function of the ruminal microbiota. Kemboi et al [ 4 ] investigated the contamination of cattle feeds in various regions of Africa. They reported that local farmers made few attempts to minimize feed contamination with mycotoxins, which compromised the health quality of dairy products.…”