Alquerfeed Antitox is highly effective against the most prevalent mycotoxins in 2020

Deoxynivalenol and fumonisin are the main mycotoxins found in grain during the first semester of 2020

Every year, mycotoxins have a great economic impact on animal production because they cause great productive losses. Their presence in the feed depends on several factors, such as the origin of the grain or the weather conditions during the cultivation and harvest, for this, mycotoxin contamination is different depending on the season and year.

During the first semester of 2020, deoxynivalenol and fumonisin were the two most prevalent mycotoxins, according to data obtained from different producers worldwide. Zearalenone was the next one in importance, which is particularly concerning in the pig sector.

From necrosis to nervous signs and reproductive problems

Mycotoxin effects depend on their chemical structure. Deoxynivalenol or DON causes tissue necrosis by contact. Lesions can be observed along the digestive tract, as it causes enteritis because it damages the villi. Fumonisin causes nervous and respiratory signs, and zearalenone produces infertility and other reproductive issues. Pigs are particularly sensitive to the toxic effects of the last one.

Despite signs caused by each mycotoxin are relatively well-defined, very often the problem comes from the subclinical issues caused by mycotoxicosis, and the only observable effects in the farms are a decrease of feed intake and growth stunt. For this reason, we should always be aware in order to prevent the effects of mycotoxins.

Control strategies against mycotoxins

Due to the incapacity to avoid the presence of mycotoxins in feed, control is based on the use of mycotoxin binders. They are molecules that, added to the feed, bind mycotoxins in the digestive tract to prevent their negative effects on animals.

Most mycotoxin binders are composed of one or two molecules. Each of these can bind only one type of mycotoxins, which means that a binder that is effective against DON will not bind fumonisin. This specificity is also observed in the binders that include enzymes or glucomannans, the spectrum of which is just as limited. The formulation of these binders is based on the forecasted contamination, so that they are effective only against mycotoxins that will probably be the most prevalent ones during the next months.

These forecasts can be wrong and, when this happens, animals remain unprotected. In addition, even at smaller doses, mycotoxins can have negative consequences on animals because they act synergistically, especially when several types are present in the feed. For this, animals are at risk when narrow-spectrum mycotoxin binders are used.

Silicoglycidol: the solution to mycotoxicosis

There is a unique molecule with a patented structure capable of binding different types of mycotoxins present in the feed. It is called Silicoglycidol, designed by Biovet S.A. and marketed in the different products of the company’s mycotoxin binder line.

Silicoglycidol has a broad spectrum of action. It protects animals against all fungal toxins from the feed. This way, its efficacy does not depend on forecasts.

Multiple in vitro and in vivo trials demonstrate its efficacy in birds, pigs, ruminants and aquaculture. Silicoglycidol has been tested in highly contaminated feed against different mycotoxins, including the most prevalent ones in 2020. Its efficacy against DON is described in the charts below. In addition, its binding efficacy for fumonisin is above 80%.

Charts 1 and 2. Productive performance improves when Silicoglycidol is added to contaminated feed because it avoids the negative effects caused by mycotoxins on the productive parameters.

The addition of this molecule to feed makes sure that animals are fully protected against mycotoxins despite the forecast for the semester.

Recently, Biovet S.A. obtained the ECO certification for Alquerfeed Antitox, a product composed of Silicoglycidol that is already available for organic production.