Fumonisins are frequently occurring mycotoxins with great relevance in animal feed. An effective way to counteract them is through biodegradation by natural metabolic pathways, a process called biotransformation. In contrast to adsorption of mycotoxins by clays, microbial and/or enzymatic biotransformation is highly specific and irreversible.
By Verena Starkl and Karin Nährer, Biomin, Austria
In 1989, the US corn crop was highly contaminated by fumonisins resulting in large outbreaks of equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) and porcine pulmonary edema (PPE) among swine. Subsequently, fumonisins (FUM) were recognised as a worldwide contaminant of not only animal feed but also food and especially corn. In a recent publication FUM were found to be the most frequently occurring mycotoxins worldwide (64% of all samples investigated) in the different commodities investigated. Reviewing the occurrence of mycotoxins in DDGS samples, fumonisins were found in 91% of DDGS samples and an average contamination of 1,036 μg/kg was reported.