Importance and preventive control of avian aflatoxicosis

Abstract

Mycotoxins are produced in the metabolism of fungi and cause important problems in animal production as well as economic, sanitary and commercial losses. They can be found in the raw materials consumed by animals, in animal products (meat, eggs and milk) and therefore be consumed by man, thus constituting a public health and animal health problem. The most important is aflatoxin because it is absorbed in the intestine and causes liver, kidney and immune system damage. Acute mycotoxicoses are rare, however, chronic mycotoxicoses are more frequent and cause a reduction in production efficiency. One of the ways to control mycotoxicosis is to add clays to contaminated food to sequester certain mycotoxins and it must be as fast as possible so that when they pass through the digestive tract they are not absorbed. In the Peruvian highlands, there are 3A-T clay deposits (Acora, Asillo, Azangaro and Tiquillaca) that belong to the group of smectites and that has been consumed by the Andean settlers in order to decrease the bitter taste of native potatoes and As a popular medicine for the treatment of gastric ulcers and diarrhea. Physico-chemical studies have recently been carried out on the clay, which indicates that it is high purity smectite and with the presence of unsaturated bonds in its structure, which makes it have a high affinity for polar molecules such as water and toxins. Experiments were also carried out to demonstrate their sequestering capacity in vitro and in chicks that consume food contaminated with aflatoxins, observing satisfactory results. It is concluded that aflatoxicosis is a major problem in commercial poultry and that the inclusion of 0.05% 3A-T clay in contaminated rations may be an alternative in the control of avian aflatoxicosis