Alternaria Mycotoxins Analysis and Exposure Investigation in Ruminant Feeds

Abstract

Alternaria mycotoxins are a class of important, agriculture-related hazardous materials, and their contamination in ruminant feeds and products might bring severe toxic effects to animals and even human beings. To control these hazardous compounds, a reliable and sensitive LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry) method was established for simultaneous determination of six target Alternaria mycotoxins in ruminant feeds, including ALT (Altenuene), AME (Alternariol Monomethyl Ether), AOH (Alternariol), ATX-Ι (Altertoxins I), TeA (Tenuazonic Acid), and TEN (Tentoxin). This developed analytical method was used for the determination of the presence of these substances in cattle and sheep feeds in Xinjiang Province, China. The results revealed that Alternaria mycotoxins are ubiquitously detected in feed samples. Especially, AME, AOH, TeA, and TEN are the most frequently found mycotoxins with a positive rate over 40% and a concentration range of 4~551 µg/kg. The proposed method could be applied for exposure investigation of Alternaria mycotoxins in ruminant feeds and for the reduction in the health risk to animals and even consumers.

A Novel Bacillus Velezensis for Efficient Degradation of Zearalenone

“…Analysis of ZEN in about half a million grains and nuts in large studies by the European Food Safety Agency and around the world showed actual contamination rates between 60% and 80% [10]. ZEN pollution levels are well above the EU and Codex Alimentarius Commission limits [11]. Then, mycotoxins were studied in our feed samples between 2017 and 2021.…”