Survey of 7 trichothecenes in corn-derived feed and feed ingredients

Abstract

Corn is a major ingredient of mixed feed, and it has been reported that corn may be contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON). There is also a possibility of contamination with other trichothecenes. Recently, corn-derived products such as Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), corn gluten feed and corn gluten meal have been introduced and used for mixed feed. However the actual occurrence of trichothecenes has not been sufficiently investigated. So, in this study, we analyzed DON and 6 other trichothecenes, i.e., 3-acetyl- deoxynivalenol (3AcDON), 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15AcDON), T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, nivalenol, and fusarenon-X, in DDGS, corn gluten feed, corn gluten meal, and mixed feed containing corn-derived ingredients. The major trichothecenes identified in the samples tested were DON, 3AcDON and 15AcDON. In particular, DON, 3AcDON and 15Ac-DON were detected in most DDGS and corn gluten feed samples. Most samples of mixed feed contained DON and 15AcDON, but only one mixed feed sample contained 3AcDON. In contrast, corn gluten meal was contaminated with lower levels of these compounds than the other samples tested. Among 36 corn gluten meal samples, DON was detected in 24 and 15AcDON was detected in 20 samples. 3AcDON was not detected in any of the corn gluten meal samples.