Gerd Schatzmayr

Introduction:Antibiotics such as tetracyclines have been extensively used in swine production in the last decades. As a consequence, levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria in livestock have increased, which is discussed as major risk for public health. Thus, alternatives to antibiotics are urgently needed to reduce the amounts of antibiotics used in food producing animals. Natural feed additives, ...

Introduction:Mycotoxins are a group of structurally diverse secondary metabolites of fungi that can result in health problems in animals and severe economic losses. Pigs are naturally exposed to mycotoxins due to the high inclusion of cereals and by-products in their diets. Based on recent surveys, 70% of worldwide feed and feed raw materials are positive for at least one mycotoxin and 40% are fou ...

1. IntroductionUp to 80% of food items of plant origin worldwide are estimated to be contaminated with mycotoxins, toxic secondary metabolites of fungi, at levels above the limit of detection (LOD) [1]. Mycotoxins threaten the health and productivity of humans and domesticated animals through dietary exposure at both acute and sub-acute contamination levels in the diet [2,3]. Many countries regula ...

1. Introduction Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by molds under favorable conditions, and they cause losses for farmers, reduce the value of contaminated feed and affect both animal health and productivity. The major problem associated with animal feed contaminated with mycotoxins is not acute disease episodes, but rather the ingestion of a low level of toxins which may cause an ...

IntroductionThe term mycotoxin designates a chemically diverse group of secondary fungal metabolites [1–3], mainly produced by species of the Aspergillus, Penicillium or Fusarium genus [4,5]. Depending on classification, 300–400 mycotoxins are known today [6]. Contamination may occur in the field as well as during (improper) storage and is largely dependent on environmental factors [7, ...