ISSUE FOCUS 36 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2025 EMs are becoming frequent contaminants in crops and animal feed. Their prevalence is largely influenced by environmental conditions, such as the weather, and they often co-occur with regulated mycotoxins. The most common EMs found in agricultural commodities are nivalenol, enniatins (A, A1, B, and B1), beauvericin, diacetoxyscirpenol, fusaric acid, patulin, moniliformin, and sterigmatocystin. The most prevalent are nivalenol, beauvericin, and enniatins – and these are sometimes found at exceedingly high concentrations. For instance, nivalenol occurs in concentrations of 0.1 to 15,600 mg/kg, beauvericin at 0.01 to 8,854 mg/kg, and enniatins at 0.25 to 10,000 mg/kg. Samples from Europe, Africa, and Asia, in particular, have shown high occurrence rates of nivalenol, beauvericin, and enniatins. High levels of EMs (excluding patulin) have been found in cereals like wheat, oats, barley, maize, and sorghum. Finished feeds for poultry, ovine, pig, cattle, and fish have also shown contaminations, predominantly with sterigmatocystin, beauvericin, patulin, moniliformin, nivalenol, and enniatins. Silage samples have also shown high levels of fusaric acid, enniatins, nivalenol, and beauvericin. As is the case with regulated mycotoxins, EMs are usually found in combination. Analysis of data from multiple studies reveals various EM combinations. Over 90% of the analyzed studies detected 2 or more EMs per sample. The most frequent combinations are: 1. BEA + ENNs 2. BEA + ENNs + MON 3. BEA + ENNs + NIV TOXICITY OF EMERGING MYCOTOXINS The toxicity of EMs can be considered individually, in combination with other EMs, or in combination with regulated mycotoxins. Although EMs are less studied than regulated mycotoxins, several have demonstrated significant toxic potential. Beauvericin (BEA) and enniatins (ENNs) may not affect feed consumption or body weight in monogastrics at 10,000 mg/kg, but, due to lipophilicity and rapid absorption, these toxins may accumulate in animal-derived products like meat, liver, skin, and eggs. To date, human toxicity data is limited. Diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) causes intestinal toxicity in pigs at concentrations of 2 mg/kg. In poultry, 0.3–20 mg/kg can even lead to oral lesions, reduced feed conversion, and reproductive issues. Moniliformin (MON) affects body weight, feed intake, egg production, and hematological parameters in monogastrics at 25–100 mg/kg. Limited data is available for Nivalenol (NIV), Sterigmatocystin (STG), and Patulin (PAT) regarding livestock effects. On top of that, we know that co-contamination between regulated mycotoxins and EMs (e.g., DON, ZEN, BEA, ENNs, and NIV) significantly reduces weight gain and feed efficiency and induces organ damage. For example, pigs fed beauvericin (3578 mg/kg), enniatins (1830 mg/kg), and deoxynivalenol (2524 mg/kg) had reduced weight gain and microbial shifts. Poultry studies have shown that long-term exposure to mixtures of deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, FBs, beauvericin, enniatins, and diacetoxyscirpenol impairs feed conversion significantly. Combinations of DAS, T-2, and AFs have also caused diarrhea, reduced growth, and feed inefficiency. Another study has shown that equine liver disease outbreaks can be linked to the consumption of forages contaminated with mixed EMs and regulated mycotoxins.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==