Decontamination and Detoxification of Mycotoxins in Feed by Pre- and PostHarvest Methods, including the Use of Microorganisms

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites originating from various species of fungi that can contaminate feed, causing chronic or acute toxicity in animals. Several mechanisms of detoxification were investigated to remove mycotoxins. At pre-harvest level, agronomic methods (planning harvesting time, crop rotation, soil tillage, irrigation and fertilization), biological methods (use of microorganisms as fungal antagonists) and chemical procedures (fungicide and insecticides) were taken into account. At post-harvest level, storage management (control of temperature, humidity, and of O2 , CO2 and N2 concentrations), physical methods (sorting, separation, washing, solvent extraction, heating, irradiation, adsorption), chemical methods (alkaline treatment and use of ozone), biological methods (use of microorganisms for detoxification and of catabolizing enzymes and application of nutritional strategies). In this mini-review, the concern of mycotoxins feed contamination, causing important consequences for dairy livestocks health, is described, considering different methods to be used for mycotoxins decontamination, including microbiological methods.