Multi-Mycotoxin Contamination of Maize Silages in Flanders, Belgium: Monitoring Mycotoxin Levels from Seed to Feed

Toxins

Katrien De Visschere¹  Sarah De Saeger²  Siska Croubels³  Maarten Ameye⁴  Jonas Vandicke⁴  Kris Audenaert⁴  Geert Haesaert⁴ 

[1] Biosciences and Food Sciences Department, Faculty Science and Technology, University College Ghent, Research Station HoGent-UGent, Diepestraat 1, 9820 Bottelare, Belgium;Department of Bio-analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium;Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;

关键词: maize;    mycotoxins;    Fusarium;    monitoring;    forage;    silage;   

DOI  :  10.3390/toxins13030202

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Maize silage, which in Europe is the main feed for dairy cattle in winter, can be contaminated by mycotoxins. Mycotoxigenic Fusarium spp. originating from field infections may survive in badly sealed silages or re-infect at the cutting edge during feed-out. In this way, mycotoxins produced in the field may persist during the silage process. In addition, typical silage fungi such as Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp. survive in silage conditions and produce mycotoxins. In this research, 56 maize silages in Flanders were sampled over the course of three years (2016–2018). The concentration of 22 different mycotoxins was investigated using a multi-mycotoxin liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method, and the presence of DNA of three Fusarium spp. (F. graminearum, F. culmorum and F. verticillioides) was analyzed in a selection of these samples using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Every maize silage contained at least two different mycotoxins. Nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) were the most prevalent (both in 97.7% of maize silages), followed by ENN B (88.7%). Concentrations often exceeded the EU recommendations for DON and zearalenone (ZEN), especially in 2017 (21.3% and 27.7% of the maize silages, respectively). No correlations were found between fungal DNA and mycotoxin concentrations. Furthermore, by ensiling maize with a known mycotoxin load in a net bag, the mycotoxin contamination could be monitored from seed to feed. Analysis of these net bag samples revealed that the average concentration of all detected mycotoxins decreased after fermentation. We hypothesize that mycotoxins are eluted, degraded, or adsorbed during fermentation, but certain badly preserved silages are prone to additional mycotoxin production during the stable phase due to oxygen ingression, leading to extremely high toxin levels.

【 授权许可】

Unknown