Monitoring the presence and investigation of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in poultry feed and its products

Abstract

Contaminating poultry feed and their products with mycotoxins produced by fungi may cause many health effects on animals and human if they were at high concentrations. Therefore, it is imperative to regularly monitor the concentration of mycotoxins specially aflatoxin and ochratoxin A in the poultry feed and their products. In the present study, we demonstrated that Aspergillus flavus was the major contaminant using DNA extraction and gel electrophoresis. Using ELISA kit for ochratoxin A, Ochratoxin A did not exceed the detection limit 50 ng/kg but in one sample has exceeded the European Union maximum limit for aflatoxins of 20 ?g/kg through the ELISA aflatoxin All kit. Aflatoxin B1 was detected in chicken liver samples using ELISA aflatoxin B1. Almost all samples were contaminated with fungi but only 4 feed samples showed aflatoxin concentration within the detection limit. Furthere experiments should be done on different liver samples in Qatar to chek the probability of this presence.