Source- BioTox®: Efficacy trial in dairy cows, University of Tehran, Iran 2013
Bullet Point 10.13
Introduction
Aflatoxin is the most problematic mycotoxin in dairy
cows due
to its derivative Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1),
which is
excreted via milk and a health hazard for
humans.
An
experiment was conducted to determine the ef-
ficacy of BioTox® in
reducing AFM1 concentrations
in milk
of dairy cows fed an Aflatoxin B1-contami-
nated diet.
Material and methods
The farm trial was done in the “Research dairy farm”
in the Department of Animal
Sci., University College
of agriculture and natural resources,
University of
Tehran (Karaj, Iran). Twenty four
lactating Holstein
cows in mid lactation (139 ± 31 DIM;
mean ± SD)
were selected by milk production and randomly as-
signed to 1 of 3 treatments arranged in a
complete
block design (n = 8). 3 primiparous
and 5 multipa-
rous cows were in each treatment
group. Cows
were housed in a tie-stall barn
bedded with rubber
mat and equipped for individual
feeding and fans to
minimize heat stress.
Cows had free access to fresh water and the bal-
anced diet. The diets were
formulated according to
the nutrient requirements of dairy cattle [NRC,
2001] using Aminocow diet formulation
software
(cf. table 1). Diet was contaminated with laboratory
produced Aflatoxin. The following treatments were
used:
A Control Group – CG → Without BioTox®
B BioTox®-20 – B-20 → + 20 g BioTox®/cow/day
C BioTox®-60 – B-60 → + 60 g BioTox®/cow/day
The objectives
of this study were to determine the
effects of adding two doses of BioTox® (B-20 & B-60)
on:
a) AFM1 concentration in milk
b) AFB1 carry-over rate
in lactating Holstein cows fed a diet contaminated with AFB1.
Table 1: Composition and nutritional values of
the diets.
(Main)
Ingredients
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Composition % of DM
Alfalfa hay 21.1
Corn silage 19.9
Corn grain 11.9
Barley grain 9,8
Cottonseed 8.2
Canola meal 6.9
Soybean meal 4.1
NUTRIENTS
Composition % of DM
Dry matter 55.0
Crude protein 16.5
Ether extract (fat con.) 5.1
Neutral detergent fiber 33.0
Acid detergent fiber 20.1
Calcium 0.81
Phosphorus 0.53
Results
Cows received in
average 18.64 µg AFB1/kg DM.
Daily DM intake
was at 18.85 kg in average, which
resulted in a
daily intake of 351.4 µg AFB1. Daily
milk yield was
29.0 kg in average (cf. table 2). The
content of dry matter intake and milk
yield was not
influenced by treatment with BioTox®. Feeding diet
Biotox-60 instead of control diet
tended to increase
energy corrected milk yield (28.2 vs. 26.4 kg/day).
Table 2: Least Square Means of milk production, milk compositions and dry matter intake.
GC B-20 B-60
Dry matter intake [kg/day] 19.14 18.38 19.02
Milk yield [kg/day] 29.28 28.94 28.78
Fat [%] 2.62b 2.81b 3.20a
Energy corrected milk [kg/day] 26.37 26.71 28.19
Protein [%] 3.26 3.24 3.32
Values within columns with no common superscript differ
significantly (P < 0.05).
Effects of dietary treatments on the AFM1 content in milk are summarized in table 3.
Table 3: Efficacy of BioTox® in reducing AFM1 content1.
GC B-20 B-60
AFM1 in milk [µg/kg milk] 0.490a 0.439ab 0.338b
AFM1 Excretion [µg/day] 14.66a 12.87ab 9.87b
Carry-over [%] 4.22a 3.85ab 2.90b
a, b Values within columns with no common superscript differ significantly (P < 0.05).
1)
Medium AFM1
concentrations for the control, Bio-
Tox®-20 and BioTox®-60 treatments were 0.490,
0.439 and 0.338
µg/kg, respectively. Compared with
the control group, AFM1 concentrations in milk
were reduced (P < 0.05) by addition of BioTox®.
AFM1 excretion via milk was 14.66, 12.87 and
9.87
µg/day for control group, BioTox®-20 and BioTox®–
60, respectively. Compared with the control
diet,
AFM1 excretion in milk was significantly reduced by
BioTox®-60 (P < 0.05). Transfer of AF from feed to
milk was 4.22, 3.85 and 2.90% for control,
BioTox®–
20 and BioTox®-60, respectively. Compared to the
control group, the carry-over rate from feed to milk
was significantly reduced by BioTox®-60 (P < 0.05).
The addition of BioTox® (60
g/cow/day ≈ 1.75 kg Bi-
oTox®/to feed for 55% DM) to the Aflatoxin diet re-
sulted in a 31% reduction in milk AFM1 concentra-
tions, a 33% reduction in Aflatoxin excretion and a
31% reduction in Aflatoxin
carry-over rate from feed
to milk.
Conclusion
The trial has shown that BioTox® was effective in:
*reducing milk AFM1 concentration *reducing excretion of AFM1 and *reducing the carry-over rate.
The magnitude of the effect was dose dependent. BioTox® in a high dose showed higher efficiency than the lower dose.
1 Data are means of 8 cows per treatment. AFM1 Excretion = concentration of AFM1 in milk x amount of milk produced; AF carry over = excretion of AFM1 divided by AFB1 consumption multiplied with 100.
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