Mycotoxin neutralization through the use of adsorbent substances

As a result, many countries have adopted severe regulations to limit mycotoxin exposure. This has had an impact on on crop and animal markets.

Mycotoxins are toxic alkaloid compounds, produced by fungi belonging to the following groups: Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Claviceps and Alternaria (Jaynes et al., 2007;  Huwig et al. , 2001).

Mycotoxins can contaminate crops in two ways:

• In living plants
• Later during the harvest

Among mycotoxins,aflatoxin B1 and M1, secreted in milk, have been shown to be the most toxic, with carcinogenic effects in animals and humans.

However, currently there are  no large-scale practical solutions to combat contamination with fungal by-products in food, using low-cost methodologies.

One of the most promising approaches to solving the mycotoxin problem is the addition of non-nutritive adsorbent materials to food batches, to control gastrointestinal absorption of these fungal metabolites.

This is achieved with the addition of sequestering agents such as zeolites, bentonites, kaolins or hydrated aluminosilicates of sodium and calcium in animal diets.