Co-Occurrence of Regulated, Masked and Emerging Mycotoxins and Secondary Metabolites in Finished Feed and Maize—An Extensive Survey

Abstract

Global trade of agricultural commodities (e.g., animal feed) requires monitoring for fungal toxins. Also, little is known about masked and emerging toxins and metabolites. 1926 samples from 52 countries were analysed for toxins and metabolites. Of 162 compounds detected, up to 68 metabolites were found in a single sample. A subset of 1113 finished feed, maize and maize silage samples containing 57 compounds from 2012 to 2015 from 44 countries was investigated using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN) and fumonisins showed large increases of annual medians in Europe. Within a region, distinct trends were observed, suggesting importance of local meteorology and cultivars. In 2015, median DON concentrations increased to 1400 μg·kg−1 in Austria, but were stable in Germany at 350 μg·kg−1. In 2014, enniatins occurred at median concentrations of 250 μg·kg−1 in Europe, at levels similar to DON and ZEN. The latter were frequently correlated with DON-3-glucoside and ZEN-14-sulfate. Co-occurrence of regulated toxins was frequent with e.g., enniatins, and moniliformin. Correlation was observed between DON and DON-3-glucoside and with beauvericin. Results indicate that considerably more than 25% of agricultural commodities could be contaminated with mycotoxins as suggested by FAO, although this is at least partly due to the lower limits of detection in the current survey. Observed contamination percentages ranged from 7.1 to 79% for B trichothecenes and 88% for ZEN.

Impact of sowing time, hybrid and environmental conditions on the contamination of maize by emerging mycotoxins and fungal metabolites

“…Thus, the choice of the proper sowing time for each geographic region and hybrid maturity probably represents the best crop technique to control the contamination of maize from the main regulated mycotoxins. However, to date, about 400 different mycotoxins have been identified in different commodities, and several of these have been found in maize (Kovalsky et al, 2016). These fungal metabolites, some of which have been referred to as emerging (Streit et al, 2013), have not yet received detailed scientific attention.…”

Preliminary Evaluation of Moniliformin as a Potential Threat for Teleosts

“…There were no differences among the two negative control conditions (H 2 O and EtOH). Influence of MON on survival might be relevant for the aquaculture industry, especially taking into account that MON is water soluble and that tested levels are within the reported occurrence levels of MON in commercial feed and plant meals [6,11]. The conditions chosen for testing MON in zebrafish ensure the maintenance of the tested concentration since MON is highly stable in water as described by Pineda-Valdes and Bullerman [27].…”

“…Co-occurrence of mycotoxins in naturally mycotoxin-contaminated feed is generally very high [10], increasing the possibility of synergistic or additive effects. In fact it is important to evaluate the effects of MON co-occurring with other regulated mycotoxins as DON, which is frequently found in same samples as MON [6]. The motivation to study the effect of MON on bone malformation, survival and growth using zebrafish as a model, was mainly due to collaborations between BIOMIN and some clients, in which it was hypothesized that high incidence of bone malformation in certain fish batches could be associated to the presence of MON in diets.…”

The problem of combined animal poisoning

“… ìèêîòîêñèêîëîãèè ýòîò âîïðîñ åùå áîëåå äèñêóññèîííûé -èñïîëüçîâàòü õèìè÷åñêè ÷èñòûé òîêñèí èëè åñòåñòâåííî êîíòàìèíèðîâàííûé êîðì. Îäèí âèä ãðèáà ìîaeåò ïðîäóöèðîâàòü íåñêîëüêî òîêñèíîâ [18,19]. Îáíàðóaeåíû òàê íàçûâàåìûå "ìàñêèðîâàíûå" òîêñèíû, êî-òîðûå íå îïðåäåëÿþòñÿ ñóùåñòâóþùèìè ðåãëàìåíòèðî-âàííûìè ìåòîäàìè èíäèêàöèè, íî â êèøå÷íèêå îíè âûñâî-áîaeäàþòñÿ èç ìàòðèöû êîðìà è îêàçûâàþò òîêñè÷åñêîå âîçäåéñòâèå [20].…”