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Mycotoxins in swine
Pigs are extremely sensitive to mycotoxins. Both the type and concentration of mycotoxin(s) in the feed, as well as the age and phase of production of the pig, will determine the degree to which the animal is affected. Young pigs and breeding sows/boars are generally the most adversely affected by mycotoxins, but it is important to note that grow-finish pigs can also be adversely affected by these harmful substances.
Even at low levels in feed, mycotoxin contamination reduces pig performance, affects health status and can contribute to increased mortality rates. In addition, irreversible tissue damage can occur, which can compromise performance long after mycotoxins have been removed from the feed.
Mycotoxins are harmful, naturally occurring substances produced by molds and fungi. These fungi commonly grow on feedstuffs and tend to multiply during adverse weather conditions. More than 500 mycotoxins have been identified to date, and this number is steadily increasing. Mycotoxins are invisible, stable and toxic chemical compounds. They are common in the farm environment, surviving in multiple places and on many different types of feed sources.
Don´t miss Douglas Zaviezo´s talk about Brazilian experiences with mycotoxins at special nutrients conference...
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Mycotoxins in straw could pose a particular threat to the health of pig herds this year, according to James Hall of the ACMC pig breeding company.
The late, wet harvest means straw has been both in short supply and of poor quality.
"While many producers are aware of mycotoxins in cereals, the danger from mouldy straw can be easily overlooked," he said.
The first signals could be an increase in the number of returns to service, extended weaning-...
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The University of Manitoba recommends feed testing and close monitoring of pigs to avoid problems associated with fusarium head blight infected grains. Fusarium head blight has been identified throughout out much of Manitoba this year with the highest levels reported in the Interlake and in southeastern Manitoba. Dr. Martin Nyachoti, an associate professor with the University of Manitoba's Department of Animal Science, says the main concern when feeding fusarium...
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The optimum solution is to buy clean grain for swine and feed the contaminated grain to cattle. Feeder cattle should be able to safely consume levels five to 10 times higher than swine. If contaminated corn must be fed, the following table lists maximum levels in swine diets for vomitoxin and zearalenone.
Age Group
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Pearling Fusarium-Contaminated Barley Yields A Feedstuff Suitable For Use In Starter Pig Diets While the full extent of the fusarium problem in the 2005 Manitoba cereal grain crops has yet to be determined, preliminary reports highlight the potential for significant infection rates. For pig producers, this could mean another season of coping with DON. The mycotoxin DON (deoxynivalenol or vomitoxin), when present in swine diets above 1 to 2 ppm, can suppress feed intake and...
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Swine producers who source cereal grains from Manitoba this year, especially late harvested wheat, are being encouraged to have samples tested to avoid potential problems associated with the mycotoxins produced by fusarium head blight. Fusarium head blight is a fungal disease that infects cereal grains, including wheat, barley, oats, trictcale and corn. The disease, which attacks the head infecting the plant’s kernels, thrives under warm moist conditions. Wheat is particularly...
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Fermentation products of Cordyceps militaris enhance performance and modulate immune response of weaned piglets
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With a wet start to the Ontario growing season, the possibility of pre-harvest infection of wheat, barley and other small grains by Fusarium fungi is high this year. In addition to reducing quality and yield, Fusarium also produces mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZONE), which contaminate the cereal crop. These mycotoxins, at high enough levels, produce toxic effects in livestock, especially swine. Feeding wheat to...
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Mycotoxins’ impact on swine fertility The pig industries main aim is to maximize the quantity of quality meat produced per sow per year while maintaining sow condition and health. In the breeding herd, the animal performance is...
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Optimal sulfur amino acids: lysine ratio and bioavailability of DL-Met and liquid MHA-FA in 10-20 kg pigs
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The basics about Fusariotoxins Pig feed plays a key-role in maximizing the animal’s genetic potential, representing 60 to 80% of total production cost. There are many substances that have to be considered as contaminants in...
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Mycotoxins’ impact on swine performance In countries where livestock breeding, namely pigs, play an important role and where the animal potential is stretched to its limits, every factor disturbing the industry and the animal’s...
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Manitoba swine producers are being advised to exercise additional vigilance this year to avoid the potential consequences of feeding mycotoxin infected feed grains. Fusarium head blight is a fungal infection that affects primarily cereal crops, most notably wheat. Weather conditions ideal for the development of the disease were prevalent this year during the most vulnerable stage of crop development resulting in widespread infection of red spring wheat crops in Manitoba....
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Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin produced by fungi which may contaminate cereal grains, including barley and wheat. The contamination is especially problematic when wet, warm conditions prevail during the growing season. The ingestion of grain that is severely contaminated by DON will cause overt symptoms such as vomiting (hence the common name “vomitoxin”). Less dramatic, but more frequently observed symptoms, reduced feed intake and growth, will result when pigs consume feed with a lower...
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Some molds produce mycotoxins. The molds can invade feed and produce toxic compounds that contaminate the feed. Molds can infect grain in the field, during harvesting, handling, and storage. More than 200 mycotoxins have been identified, but only a few are believed to affect swine performance. Risk to the pig from mycotoxin-contaminated feed depends on the age and health of the pig and level of toxin in the feed. The most severe effect is death, but low levels of mycotoxin can hurt pig...
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Aflatoxins are toxic by-products produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. The Aspergillus fungus can germinate and grow on feed grains at moisture levels of 15 % or greater in the presence of warm (70 to 100° F) temperatures. Aflatoxin production by the fungus is optimal at moisture levels greater than 17.5 % and temperatures of 77 to 92° F. The toxin can infect a variety of grains but most often occurs in corn. Infection can occur while grain is standing in the...
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The incidence of Fusarium infestation in cereal crops in western Canada has been increasing over the past few years. Fusarium-infected grains produce a toxic metabolite commonly known as vomitoxin. Consuming vomitoxin-contaminated rations can lead to significant reductions in feed intake and reduced pig performance. Generally accepted guidelines suggest that vomitoxin in complete swine rations be maintained at levels under 1 ppm. Faced with a growing supply of contaminated grain, researchers at...
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The effects of chronic oral exposure (28 days) to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) were studied in weaned piglets. Six experimental groups, each comprising two neutered males and two females, were fed ad libitum with rations containing: (A) 0 mg of FB1 and 0 mg of AFB1/kg of feed (control); (B) 10 mg of FB1/kg of feed; (C) 30 mg of FB1/kg of feed; (D) 50 mg of AFB1/kg of feed; (E) 10 mg of FB1 plus 50 mg of AFB1/kg of feed; (F) 30 mg of FB1 plus 50 mg of AFB1/kg of feed. The...
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Fermentation products of Cordyceps militaris enhance performance and modulate immune response of weaned piglets
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There are numerous reports indicating that weanling piglets (Friend et al., 1982, Döll et al., 2003) and growing and finishing pigs (House et al., 2002; Dänike et al., 2004) are particularly sensitive to feed-borne Fusarium mycotoxins. The major symptom seen in pigs consuming deoxynivalenol (DON, vomitoxin)-contaminated feed is reduced feed intake resulting from altered brain neurochemistry including elevated brain concentrations of serotonin (Swamy et al., 2002). Other symptoms include...
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Zearalenone (ZEA) is a naturally occurring mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, mainly Fusarium graminearum, on a variety of different grains, such as corn, wheat, rice, sorghum, barley and rye. (4) The Fusarium graminearum also survives in crop residues, which in turn provide the inoculum for the next year's crop. (3) The primary effect of ZEA is estrogenic, and prepubertal female pigs are clearly the most affected farm animals. The basis for the estrogenic effect is well...
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Optimal sulfur amino acids: lysine ratio and bioavailability of DL-Met and liquid MHA-FA in 10-20 kg pigs
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Testing a mycotoxin adsorber (Agrabond) in a 21-day farm trial on gilts produced favourable results. The objective of this study was to determine if the addition of the mycotoxin adsorbent Agrabond (a brand of Agranco) negated, lessened or postponed the...
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The Indiana Statistics Service has discovered mycotoxin levels in this year’s Indiana corn crop - apparently the worst in 10 years.
316 samples from 70 counties were examined to determine the severity of major ear rot diseases. The toxicology group at the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory performed the analysis.
Samples from six counties were found to contain deoxynivalenol (DON), or vomitoxin. Levels ranged from 0.5 - 8 ppm.
These levels are of great concern to pig...
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