Occurrence of Aflatoxin B1 in poultry feed ingredients and mixed feeds: A report from South India

Abstract

The present was work taken up to screen and quantify aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in various poultry feed ingredients and mixed feeds collected from Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. A total of two hundred samples containing mixed feeds representing five brands and various poultry feed ingredients were collected and estimated for aflatoxin B1 content by Thin Layer Chromatography. Forty two percent were contaminated with AFB1 and the highest percentage of AFB1 contamination was observed in maize (61%), followed by groundnut cake and mixed feeds (55%). In sorghum, ragi, bajra and rice bran 33, 17, 31 and 17 per cent of samples respectively were contaminated with AFB1. The AFB1 content ranged between 17–649 ppb in groundnut cake, 42–368 ppb in maize and 16–152 ppb in sunflower cake. In sorghum, ragi, bajra and rice bran the AFB1 concentrations were in the range of 39–86, 19–47, 38–147 and 17–40 ppb respectively. Screening of feed ingredients and mixed feeds before feeding to poultry would be helpful in preventing the exposure of poultry to aflatoxins through contaminated feed.