EFFECTS OF MYCOTOXINS ACCORDING TO SPECIES
POULTRY
In general, poultry are very sensitive to mycotoxins, although the effect of these also depends on the species. For example, broiler chickens are not as affected by aflatoxin (immunosuppressive) contamination compared to other birds such as turkeys, geese and ducks.
For their part, type A trichothecenes such as T2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and diacetoxyscripenol are a constant concern for the industry because they cause heavy economic losses. And it is that these types of mycotoxins are very toxic for birds, especially for chickens, with consequences such as reduced feed intake, lower body weight, oral lesions and reduced quality of fertile eggs.
On the other hand, turkeys and chicks are very sensitive to ochratoxins, and can cause weight loss, poor growth and production of eggs with poor quality in their shell.
Regarding the fumonisins, they can cause the death of the animal in degrees of high contamination.
RUMINANTS
Ruminants are also very sensitive to mycotoxin contamination. They can, for example, modify the ruminal microbiota.
Mycotoxins in ruminants can also alter their ruminal function reducing its motility before affecting the animal health.
They can be affected by aflatoxins, zearalenone and trichothecenes and, to a greater extent, young ruminants and monogastric animals.
These toxins particularly affect dairy cows. When these have been ingested, can reduce feed intake, provoke acute mastitis, weight loss and respiratory disorders. Mycotoxins can also produce immunosuppression, liver damage and, of course, reduced milk production.
For its part, the T-2 toxin causes them to lose weight and appetite, low milk production, poor growth and gastroenteritis. It is also associated with hemorrhagic bowel syndrome, since it is capable of altering immune function.
In ruminants, zearalenone alters reproductive processes and even causes spontaneous abortions.
AQUACULTURE
The presence of mycotoxins in food and feed is a significant issue, especially in fish farming where it can negatively impact farmed fish species.
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by various fungal species that can contaminate food and feed, posing significant risks to human and animal health. In aquaculture, the replacement of fishmeal with alternative protein sources has increased the risk of mycotoxin contamination, becoming a major challenge in fish feed production. Current data highlights that fish are exposed not only to common mycotoxins but also to emerging ones, raising concerns about human exposure through fish consumption.
PET FOOD
In recent years, the number of companion animals has increased significantly worldwide; and with it, the attention paid to their care and well-being. In this context, obtaining nutritious, high-quality food products for these animals entails an enormous responsibility for the feed production industry. Maintaining innocuousness and ensuring food safety is essential (Kepinska and Biel, 2021). There are various microbiological risks that can affect food quality, among which bacteria, fungi, and their toxins stand out; the latter being a major problem for animal and human health.
Mycotoxin contamination in feed is a serious health threat to pets. Mycotoxins are harmful metabolites meanly produced by the three principal groups of fungi: Penicillium, Aspergillus and Fusarium.
Just like in forages, mycotoxins can be generated in cereals before, during, and after harvest, under different environmental conditions. The pet food industry uses cereals and cereal by-products as inputs to obtain digestible starch through an extrusion process. However, despite this process involving high pressures and temperatures, it is not capable of inactivating mycotoxins. Therefore, these contaminants pose a significant risk to pet health, raising concerns among pet owners (Grandi et al., 2019; Antonissen et al., 2017).
The European Commission has established maximum permissible levels of mycotoxins in animal feed. However, the risk of causing damage to the animals has not been completely eliminated, as even continuous exposure to low doses of certain mycotoxins could lead to serious health problems (Kepinska and Biel, 2021).
Depending on the mycotoxin nature, the effects may be carcinogenic, teratogenic, immunosuppressant, mutagenic, hepatotoxic, neurotoxic or nephrotoxic. Below is a compilation of the effects of these toxins reported so far in dogs and cats.