Aflatoxin M1 levels in sow milk

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Aflatoxins (AFs) are one of the most known and investigated group of mycotoxins, which can be found as contaminants in different types of food and feed. Animals are exposed to AFs mainly through the consumption of contaminated feed, particularly products of plant origin. Among AFs, aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is the monohydroxylated derivative of AFB1 formed in the liver and excreted into the milk of lactating animals. This study encompassed the Vojvodina region of Serbia and was aimed at determining the levels of AFM1 excretion in sows' milk in the first 3-5 days of lactation, after consumption of naturally contaminated with AFB1 maize. A total of 110 sows' milk samples from 11 swine farms in the specific region were analyzed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Different levels of AFM1 were detected in the majority (97%) of the examined milk samples. The obtained results showed AFM1 levels ranging from 5 to 165.4 ng/L. The results of this study pose special health concern associated with aflatoxin contamination of swine feed raw materials in this particular part of Serbia. Moreover, such high incidence of AFM1 detection in sows' milk may suggest the occurrence of long-term low level aflatoxicosis clinical cases.

Transfer of Mycotoxins from Lactation Feed to Colostrum of Sows

“…The observations regarding Nevertheless, high values of AFM1 can be found where controls of raw materials are less stringent. In a survey, carried out using the ELISA method, on ten farms selected because they were critical for AF occurrence in the feed or for a sow health condition, Prodanov-Radulović et al [19] observed that 97% of the milk samples collected at 3-5 days of lactation were above the limit of determination for AFM1. Furthermore, half of the farms tested presented AFM1 values above 60 ng/L.…”

“…It has been verified that a transfer of aflatoxins to sow milk occurs as indicated by the recovery of AF B1 or its metabolites M1 and M2 [17,18]; however, it is much lower than that detected in cows. Nevertheless, a Serbian survey [19] has found several samples of sow milk with values two or three times higher than that of the European Union (EU) limit fixed for cow's milk destined for human consumption [16]. As for fumonisins, in the only trial carried out on sows, minimal detectable amounts of FU B1 were found in the milk during a two-week intake of FUs [20].…”

Current Swine Respiratory Diseases Morphology in Intensive Swine Production in Serbia

“…Asymptomatic carriers of the bacterium, either those having survived the acute form of the disease or those that were subclinically infected, are an important source of infection. The severity of disease can be signifi cantly infl uenced by differences in virulence potential of different isolates and stress factors, different co-infections with other pathogens, and extrinsic factors such as poor husbandry and insuffi cient biosecurity [28,31,35,49].…”

“…It needs to be stressed that latently infected pigs can be a permanent source of reinfection in a herd. The latent infection may be reactivated by stress (transport, mixing of pigs) or due to swine feed contamination with different mycotoxins [28,31].…”

“…In Serbia, commercial pig farrow-to fi nish farm systems are characterized by the presence of various predisposing factors, which signifi cantly infl uence the occurrence of respiratory diseases [28][29][30]. Compared to multi-site production systems, in farrow-to fi nish swine farms more opportunities for pathogens, environment and management interactions exist [24,25,31]. Today, despite the introduction of modern vaccines against the most important agents causing respiratory diseases of swine (for example M. hyopneumoniae, PCV-2, PRRSV) and all efforts implemented from the production aspect in the technology in the swine industry, the situation is even more complicated [29,[32][33][34].…”