Natural dietary exposure to ochratoxin A (OTA) has been previously reported for horses and their foals, but no data are currently available for donkeys. The present study was aimed to assess the natural OTA exposure of seven Martina Franca jennies by analyzing feed samples and blood and milk collected every 15 days from jennies during late pregnancy and after delivery. The transfer of OTA to foals was investigated by analyzing their blood. Fifty-three feed samples were collected from January to September 2018 and analyzed by the AOAC Official method No. 2000.03 based on immunoaffinity column (IAC) clean-up of extracts and HPLC/FLD detection (LOD 0.1 ng/g). Eighty-seven percent of samples showed low OTA levels up to 2.7 ng/g. A total of 67 and 34 blood samples were collected from jennies and foals, respectively, and analyzed for OTA by ELISA (LOD 50 ng/L). Twenty-three percent of samples were confirmed by HPLC analysis. In jennies the OTA incidence rate of positive blood samples was 73%, with median value of 114 ng/L and concentrations ranging from 51 to 6,000 ng/L. A season-effect on OTA levels in the blood samples was observed with increases in 46% of the positive ones collected from April to June. Concerning foals, the incidence rate of positive blood samples was 50% with median value of 136 ng/L and concentrations ranged from 79 to 4030 ng/L. A total of 33 milk samples were collected from jennies and analyzed by HPLC/FLD method based on IAC clean-up (LOD 15 ng/L). The incidence of milk positive samples was 36% with levels ranging from 17 to 82 ng/L. A positive relationship (r=0.77) between serum OTA level in jennies and the ratio serum/milk OTA was found. In conclusion, the occurrence of OTA in blood and milk samples showed a natural exposure of jennies and foals to this mycotoxin. In addition, the presence in jenny milk could pose a risk for human newborn considering its well-known nutritional and health properties.
Occurrence of ochratoxin A in feed, blood and milk samples collected from jennies and blood from their foals
Lippolis V;Pascale M;Minervini F
2019
Abstract
Natural dietary exposure to ochratoxin A (OTA) has been previously reported for horses and their foals, but no data are currently available for donkeys. The present study was aimed to assess the natural OTA exposure of seven Martina Franca jennies by analyzing feed samples and blood and milk collected every 15 days from jennies during late pregnancy and after delivery. The transfer of OTA to foals was investigated by analyzing their blood. Fifty-three feed samples were collected from January to September 2018 and analyzed by the AOAC Official method No. 2000.03 based on immunoaffinity column (IAC) clean-up of extracts and HPLC/FLD detection (LOD 0.1 ng/g). Eighty-seven percent of samples showed low OTA levels up to 2.7 ng/g. A total of 67 and 34 blood samples were collected from jennies and foals, respectively, and analyzed for OTA by ELISA (LOD 50 ng/L). Twenty-three percent of samples were confirmed by HPLC analysis. In jennies the OTA incidence rate of positive blood samples was 73%, with median value of 114 ng/L and concentrations ranging from 51 to 6,000 ng/L. A season-effect on OTA levels in the blood samples was observed with increases in 46% of the positive ones collected from April to June. Concerning foals, the incidence rate of positive blood samples was 50% with median value of 136 ng/L and concentrations ranged from 79 to 4030 ng/L. A total of 33 milk samples were collected from jennies and analyzed by HPLC/FLD method based on IAC clean-up (LOD 15 ng/L). The incidence of milk positive samples was 36% with levels ranging from 17 to 82 ng/L. A positive relationship (r=0.77) between serum OTA level in jennies and the ratio serum/milk OTA was found. In conclusion, the occurrence of OTA in blood and milk samples showed a natural exposure of jennies and foals to this mycotoxin. In addition, the presence in jenny milk could pose a risk for human newborn considering its well-known nutritional and health properties.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
