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Mycotoxins and Their Consequences in Livestock

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Fungal Diseases in Animals

Part of the book series: Fungal Biology ((FUNGBIO))

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Abstract

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by moulds, mostly belonging to the three genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium, to survive against environmental stress and attack. Mycotoxin-caused illnesses have been reported worldwide. This chapter covers the classification, transmission and mechanism of action of mycotoxins and their consequences on livestock. There is detail given for various mycotoxins and their causes of infection, transmission and prevention in pig, poultry and cattle farms. Based on studies of animal models and human epidemiological data, it is evident that mycotoxins impose health and economical hazards to human beings and their livestock. Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium are major producers of these mycotoxins in all livestock. These fungi produce mycotoxins in a specific way and toxic effects in immunologically weaker organisms. Mycotoxins may be responsible for cancer, protein calorie malnutrition, weak immunity, skin problem and other metabolic problems. The observation of symptoms of acute mycotoxin poisoning through different causes is simple to characterize, but their role in cancer and other chronic conditions is yet to be proved. A review of literature clearly elucidated that mould contamination is quite different from mycotoxicoses. Besides, mere detection of mycotoxins is not sufficient enough to consider these as aetiological agents in a given veterinary or human health problem. Also, incidence of mycotoxicoses could be higher than proposed. This chapter suggests proper storage and maintaining hygienic conditions of livestock are efficient ways to protect animals from toxicity. The prevention of mycotoxins has been regulated by legal decisions and laws too. Prevention is only option at present due to lack of appropriate detection method and diagnostic test for presence of mycotoxins in food and animals.

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Acknowledgement

Authors are thankful to Dr. Rohan D’souza for due help in preparing this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (ESAC), IPC, Coimbra, Portugal

    Jacklin Mary Anthony

  2. Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra, UP, India

    Monika Asthana & Avnish Kumar

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  1. Jacklin Mary Anthony
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  2. Monika Asthana
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  3. Avnish Kumar
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Gonda, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Arti Gupta

  2. Department of Zoology, K.S.Saket P.G.College, Ayonda, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Nagendra Pratap Singh

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Anthony, J.M., Asthana, M., Kumar, A. (2021). Mycotoxins and Their Consequences in Livestock. In: Gupta, A., Pratap Singh, N. (eds) Fungal Diseases in Animals. Fungal Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69507-1_2

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