Mycotoxins in corn silage: A pilot study

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Richard, Estelle | Garon, David | Lecluse, Y. | Sage, Lucille | Bouchart, Valérie | Pottier, Didier | Lebailly, Pierre

Edité par CCSD ; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins -

International audience. Agricultural activities involve the use of crop preservation such as corn silage which is one of the most important animal feeds in France, particularly in Lower-Normandy where it is used by 56% of cattle breeding farms. Corn could be contaminated by molds at the pre-harvest stage (infection in the field) and/or at the post-harvest stage (during silage storage). This fungal growth reduced nutritional value and could result in the production of secondary metabolites named mycotoxins. Mycotoxins constituted a risk factor for human and animal health. Depending on the type and amounts of toxin present in the silage, health problems could range from minor digestive upsets, small fertility problems, and reduced immune function, to liver or kidney cancers.To deal with the exposure of livestock and farm workers to fungal spores and mycotoxins, we first studied mycoflora in corn silage, and we chose to develop a multi-mycotoxins analysis method. After solid-phase extraction (SPE) on a polymeric phase sorbent, 6 mycotoxins [aflatoxin B1, citrinin, deoxynivalenol, gliotoxin, ochratoxin A, zearalenone] were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography system coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) using an electrospray ionization source (ESI). The developed method was applied to the survey of a silage during its 9 months of use (September 2004 - May 2005). During this period, the mycotoxinogenic molds were also determined in corn silage.The pilot study in a cattle breeding (Normandy, France) showed the recurrence of around 20 different species with some of them being potentially toxicogenic molds such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Fusarium verticillioides and Monascus ruber. During the 9 months monitoring, we detected aflatoxin B1, citrinin, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone at maximum concentrations of 34, 25, 213 and 41 μg/kg, respectively.This study resulted in the development of a multi-mycotoxins analysis method applied to corn silage, a complex matrice. It constitutes a tool to explore livestock and human exposure to mycotoxins in corn silage. This pilot study was the first monitoring of corn silage and gave informations about variations in mycotoxins concentrations. Moreover, the mycoflora analysis completed this work and showed the recurrence of potential mycotoxinogenic strains. These analytical and microbiological results suggested a possible chronic exposure to low levels of mycotoxins. Because these compounds were associated with many agricultural commodities, it was clearly possible that the handling of silage and forage crops might present a potential toxic hazard to those involved in these operations.

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