Mycotoxin
- The word mycotoxin stems from the Greek word “mykes” meaning mould and “toxicum” meaning poison.
- A mycotoxin is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of the fungus kingdom and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals.
- They can contaminate various agricultural commodities either before harvest or under post-harvest conditions
Types of mycotoxins
Aspergillus
Penicillium
Fusarium
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- DON (Deoxynivalenol )
- ZON (Zearalenone )
- T-2 Toxin
- Fumonisin
Effects of mycotoxins in poultry
- The effects of mycotoxins in poultry are very complex and varies greatly according to their mechanism of toxicity and primary target organs.
- When mycotoxins are present simultaneously in feed, they may have synergistic or additive effects.
- Their effects are diverse, varying from immune suppression to death.
Aflatoxicosis
- Aflatoxin is known to have a hepatotoxic effect in chickens and also known to have hepatocarcinogenic effect in exposed animals.
- The common clinical signs related to aflatoxicosis in chickens, include:
- decreased feed intake
- poor growth and inhomogeneous flocks
- increased mortality
- abnormal pigmentation (shank, feet)
- feed passage
- higher feed conversion rate (FCR).
The most consistent findings in chickens suffer from aflatoxicosis was
- immune suppressive effects, include more susceptible to diseases, decreased responds to vaccination and antibiotic treatment, and decreased resistance to environment stress.
- In many cases of aflatoxicosis there was an increase in leg problems, leg weakness, reduced bone strength, short shank, and leg deformity.
- In some cases, there were anemia and abnormal blood clotting, increased incidence of bruising and down grading, and nervous syndrome (abnormal behavior).
Pathological lesions associated with aflatoxicosis in chickens
In acute-subacute aflatoxicosis
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- The liver appeared enlarged, pale yellow in color, friable, and usually the gall bladder was enlarged and filled with bile.
- The pancreas was usually small and depigmented and there were hemorrhages on subcutaneous tissues and muscles.
- The liver was small, firm, and rounded
In chronic aflatoxicosis
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- The liver was small, firm, and rounded
- Sometimes this organ was very small, rounded, and rubbery which very often complicates with ascites and hydropericardium.
- The other consistent lesions in aflatoxicosis were found in bursa Fabricius, thymus, and spleen which appeared smaller than normal.
- in male parent stocks, the size of testes was significantly reduced
Trichothecenes toxicosis
- Trichothecenes mycotoxins affect actively dividing cells, such as those lining the gastrointestinal tracts, skin, lymphoid and erythroid cells. They have caustic and irritant effects on the skin and mucous membrane.
- Trichothecenes mycotoxins which are commonly found in the field, include T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), and deoxynivalenol (DON).
- The common clinical signs related to these mycotoxins were:
- decreased feed intake, included feed refusal or prolonged feed finish, growth depression.
- dermal and oral lesions (crust on the beak, ulcers in oral cavity) .
- poor or abnormal feathering .
- inhomogeneous flocks.
- impaired FCR.
- immune suppression.
Ochratoxicosis
- Ochratoxin type mycotoxins which is most commonly found in the field is Ochratoxin A (OTA), which has a primary target organ on the kidneys as it is known to be nephrotoxic.
The common clinical signs related to OTA were:
- decreased feed consumption.
- decreased weight gain.
- retarded growth .
- poor feathering.
- higher mortality rate.
- higher FCR.
- abnormal pigmentation (shank, feet)
- increased water consumption
- immune suppressive effects.
In layers and parent stocks, observations were:
- decreased egg production
- egg size, and egg weight
- poor egg shell
- eggs with blood/meat spots in the yolk or albumin
- delay in sexual maturity .
- In parent stocks, there was a decrease in hatchability and poor progeny performance.
General line of mycotoxins treatment:
- Remove toxic feed and replace with unadulterated feed.
- Treat concurrent disease to alleviate disease interactions.
- Correct substandard management practices.
- Provide supportive care with vitamins, trace minerals, and increased dietary protein.
Our product (SYNER CARE )contain special formula to get rid of mycotoxins and improve gastrointestinal health and digestion.
Dry yeast extract
(saccharomyces cerevisiae ):
- The cell wall of the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae is composed of polysaccharide fraction (85%–90%) and protein fraction (10%–15%).
- Mannans and mannoproteins comprise between 30% and 40% of dry weight of yeast, β-1,3-glucan (30%–50%), highly branched β-1,6-glucan (approx. 10%), while chitin content does not exceed 1%.
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most widely commercialized species and one of the most effective adsorbents. These YCW products are already used as prebiotics, which improve the performance of broiler chickens, stimulate the immune system, and compete with pathogenic micro-organisms in the intestinal lumen .
What is toxin binder for poultry?
- a toxin binder refers to a substance added to poultry feed in minute quantities that is able to neutralize or immobilize harmful chemicals, mycotoxins or endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides) within a bird’s gastrointestinal tract, thus avoiding negative consequences.
Mechanism of saccharomyces cerevisiae :
- Mycotoxin adsorption by yeast cell wall in the intestine and reduction its bioavailability
- exposure to mycotoxins induce an increase in the diameters.
- cerevisiae possibly exposing more binding sites and improving mycotoxin adsorption to the yeast wall .
Acidifiers:
- Acidifiers are acids, the term implies that the PH of the feed or water lowered by the addition of acidifiers.
- acidification defined as a method of eliminating the high occurrence of pathogens in the poultry environment, include the reduction of PH in feed and in the animal digestive tract mainly in the stomach .
- acidification product are either single weak acids or mixtures of several different weak acids, the combination could be two or more organic acids or phosphoric acid with one or more organic acids.
Role of Acidifier
- Acidifier affects chicken performance
- directly by improving feed intake , weight gain ,feed conversion ratio. indirectly by improving protein and mineral digestion, reduction of micro organism both in feed and digestive tract.
- Also it has a potential role in feed preservation.
Effect of acidifier on digestion
- Acidification with various weak organic acids to diet such as (formic- citric– phosphoric ) have been reported to
improve digestibility of protein , Ca, P, Mg and Zn serve as substrate in the intermediary metabolism .
- Acidifier stimulating the endogenous enzymes in digestion.
Acidifier act as antimicrobial agents
Organic acid in their dissociated form are able to pass through the cell membrane of microbes. Once inside the cells, the acid dissociates to produce H+ ion which lower the PH of the cell causing to use of it is energy in trying to restore the normal balance whereas the Rcoo- anions produced . from the acid, can disrupt DNA and protein synthesis, putting the organism under stress so that it unable to replicate rapidly . the low PH condition protect the animal from infection especially at young ages.
Acidifier act as anti mold and feed preservation The potential of acidifiers in feed preservation protecting feed from fungi and mold destruction
Organic acids
Definition
- Organic acids are widely distributed in nature as normal constituent of plant and animal tissues which have organic radicals containing molecules of carbon or nitrogen , hydrogen and oxygen attached to them.
- Organic acids come from protein, fat or carbohydrate.
- the organic acids that have been evaluated as feed ingredient for livestock and poultry are derived from fat they include acetic, benzoic, butyric, citric, formic , lactic, malic , propionic and ascorbic acids.
Formic acid
- the principal use of formic acid as a preservative and anti microbial agent in livestock feed, it cause the feed to retain its nutritive value longer.
Mode of action
- formic acid can penetrate the bacterial cell membranes and destroy DNA.
Phosphoric acid
- Also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric (v) is a mineral acid with chemical formula (H3po3).
- The information about the use of phosphoric acid as a feed additive to poultry was published along time ago and this is the reason for the use of this acid in a new genetic material that can achieve better growth performances and feed conversion ratio .
Mode of action
- phosphoric acid inhibits the growth of fungi of the genera Fusarium ,Aspergillus’ and penicillium isolated from poultry feed .
phosphoric acid contains phosphorus which have more known functions in the animal body the close association with Ca in bone , in addition it occurs in phosphoprotein ,nucleic acid ,phospholipids.
- Also phosphorus play a vital role in energy metabolism in the formation of sugar phosphate ADP and ATP.
citric acid (CA)
citric acid is the most common organic acid used in poultry diets. It acts as a growth promoter through acidifying the gastrointestinal (GI) content and is considered as a favored determinant in effective nutrient digestion. CA also improves the solubility of the feed ingredients, digestion and absorption of nutrients by modifying intestinal pH( pH). It is a good natural preservative; it is also used to add an acidic taste to food and soft drink.
Thymol essential oil have appetite and digestion-stimulating effect lead to the greater efficiency in the utilization of feed, resulting in enhanced growth and improvement of both feed conversion ratio and body weight gain.
Exerted potent antibacterial effect against poultry origin strains of E-coli and salmonella.
1.Disintegrate the membrane of bacteria , leading to the release of membrane associated materials to the external medium .
2.penetrate the bacteria and may thus, be able to influence their proliferation.
Thymol
- thymol has high antioxidant activity is due to the presence of phenolic OH groups which act as hydrogen donors to the peroxy radicals produced during the first step in lipid oxidation .
- Thymol has high antioxidant activity is due to the presence of phenolic OH groups which act as hydrogen donors to the peroxy radicals produced during the first step in lipid oxidation .
- thus, retarding the hydroxy peroxide formation.
Artichoke extract
- is a vegetable appreciated for its flavorful leaves and flower bases.
- The leaves contain a compound called “cynarin” which has demonstrated liver tonic properties.
- One of these healthful properties can be found in the artichoke leaves.
Cynarin benefits
- inhibits of inflammation and ROS, improves liver function, gut microbiota, enhances lipolysis and lipid metabolism.
- has the direct effect on the production and secretion of bile.
- favoring the digestion of fats by means of its own emulsification.
Artichoke leaf is thought to lower cholesterol by two specific mechanisms:
First, by increasing bile flow and production, it stimulates the breakdown and elimination of cholesterol.
Second, it inhibits the production of cholesterol in the liver.
