Aflatoxin Status of Some Swine Feeds in Ibadan, Nigeria

The use of industry by-products and few other feed ingredients as feedstuff for swine is a regular practice and usually increases animal performances, hence making it more economical. The occurrence of aflatoxin contamination is global, causing severe problems especially in developing countries. Due to the insidious nature of aflatoxin production and the resulting disease states which made diagnosis of aflatoxin difficult; many cases of animal aflatoxicosis have often not been reported in Nigeria. This suggests that little has been done on mycotoxicosis in Nigeria and there is paucity of information on aflatoxin in swine feed as there is no data for the co-occurrence of aflatoxins in swine feed in the country. The aims of the study was to provide information on the aflatoxin status of swine feeds and to identify the aflatoxin types found in swine feeds.

Twenty-two samples of the swine feeds were collected from different farms at different occasions. High performance liquid chromatography was used for separation and quantification of aflatoxin fractions in the feed samples.

Results indicate that aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 were detected in all the samples investigated, with B1 being the most abundant across the samples except for one of the samples in which aflatoxin G1 is the most abundant across the sample.

The range of concentration of total aflatoxins was 42.20 to 184.25 μg/kg (mean: 109.39 μg/kg). The results of this study shows that swine feeds in Ibadan, Nigeria are frequently contaminated with aflatoxins at levels that are considered to be capable of inflicting some level of acute poisoning to the pigs that consume such feeds. Aflatoxin levels in the samples were higher than the recommended limits (20 ppb) for complementary feedstuffs in all animals.

The results of this study shows that swine feeds in Ibadan, Nigeria are frequently contaminated with aflatoxins at levels that are considered to be capable of inflicting some level of acute poisoning to the pigs that consume such feeds. Aflatoxin levels in the samples were higher than the recommended limits (20 ppb) for complementary feedstuffs in all animals.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.