Abstract

Diets of ruminants include grains, protein fodder, hay and grass/legumes, whole grain corn, small grains, sorghum silage and feed by-products. In addition, ruminants fed grazing feed every year or every season. All these feeds can be contaminated with exogenous metabolites of certain toxin-causing fungi. There are fewer changes in food metabolism in ruminants than in pigs and poultry, and these metabolites increase and diversify the effects of mycotoxins in ruminants. Existing data indicate that some streptoxins (Aflatoxin, Aspergillus toxin, Aspergillus A toxin, Fumonisin, and Zearalenone) and many other secondary metabolites produced by many other types of Alternaria are harmful to ruminants. Tavronic acid and 4Z-infected pyrrolidone have the greatest effect on ruminants. Aspergillus flavus produces kojic acid, cyclopyrazinic acid, or β-nitropropionic acid, and A. fumigatus produces gliotoxin. Pseudomonas produces mycophenolic acid, Rocfortine, PR-toxin, Marcoforthine, or Monasc (citrine and monacolin), which may be associated with feed contamination. The assessment includes information on the prevalence of mycotoxins reported over the past 15 years, with particular attention to both mycotoxins found in fodders and animal toxicology issues.