Download Innovation Spotlight Fighting poison with clay: natural all

Innovation Spotlight
TOXISORB® PREMIUM
Fighting poison with clay:
natural all-rounder protects
livestock animals
Issue: Fall 2014
TOXISORB® Premium – clay minerals act against mold
fungi toxins in animal feed
Ever since man has cultivated cereal crops as food, there has been poisoning by mold fungi
toxins, known as mycotoxins, which can form in grains that have become moldy. In former
times, this was more the rule than the exception – although it took a long time for mycotoxins
to be recognized as causes of diseases or even mortalities. It was generally unknown that the
consumption of foods affected by mold can be harmful to humans and animals. Although
constantly rising standards of food production reduced the risk of humans coming into
direct contact with mycotoxins, this did not apply to livestock animals. Even as recently as
1960, about 100,000 turkeys died in the UK from eating moldy peanut meal – the »turkey X
disease« triggered intensive research into the harmfulness of mold fungi in animal feed.
Even today, despite tight controls and strict limits there are still cases of feed becoming
heavily contaminated with mycotoxins: as recently as in 2013, 45,000 tons of fodder corn
contaminated with aflatoxin were imported from Serbia into Germany.
How does the problem arise? A large proportion of dry animal feed consists of cereals such
as corn, wheat, barley and oats. But soybeans and rice are also among the products at risk.
Under certain environmental conditions, some types of mold fungi settle on the harvested
crops – both during the growth phase and during transport and storage, which is essential to
ensure an all-year-round supply of feed for livestock. Altogether, one quarter of global food
crops – and thus automatically feed production too – is affected.
CLARIANT PRODUKTE
(DEUTSCHLAND) GMBH
BU FUNCTIONAL MINERALS
Ostenrieder Straße 15
85368 Moosburg
Germany
WWW.CLARIANT.COM
WWW.INNOVATION.CLARIANT.COM
WWW.FUNCTIONALMINERALS.CLARIANT.COM
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The thread-like fungi secrete toxic metabolic products known as mycotoxins, which travel
through the digestive system into the animals’ blood stream and, through products like milk,
eggs and meat, also into the human body. They not only jeopardize the health of humans and
animals, but also cause severe economic damage: the Food Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) estimates that attacks by mycotoxins cause an annual loss of 1,000
million tons of food every year.
The mold fungi existing in all climatic zones of the world produce 300–400 different
mycotoxins. Depending on the type of mold fungus and animal species, they affect health
to greatly differing degrees. Particularly relevant and globally widespread are aflatoxins,
the most dangerous of all fungal toxins. They form in improperly stored food or feed and can
already be fatal even in small amounts. Ochratoxin A, however, the most common ochratoxin,
usually already develops while the plant is still growing. Another group is the trichothecenes
produced by different species of fungi, of which the mold fungus genus Fusarium is the most
well known. Among other things, they harm the immune system, and the so-called fumonisins
are even suspected of being carcinogenic for humans.
With minerals against dangerous toxins
To combat these mold fungi toxins, clay minerals have long been admixed with animal feed –
just as man uses them as healing earth to treat stomach and intestinal complaints. In the
animal digestive system, because of their layered surface they can firmly bind mycotoxins
before they enter the animals’ blood stream. However, each of the natural clay minerals used
so far were only able to absorb a certain toxin. There are two reasons for this: firstly, forces
of attraction and repulsion play a role because of the different electrical charges of clay
minerals and mycotoxins. Secondly, the bulky three-dimensional structure of some toxins
prevents permanent binding to the mineral.
TOXISORB® Premium: multi-layered all-round solution
With feed additive TOXISORB® Premium, Clariant presents a highly efficient all-round
talent with a very broad spectrum of action. With an exceptionally adsorptive large-pored
surface, it can bind more than 90 percent of all toxins simultaneously – in a dosage of only
one to four kilograms per ton of animal feed. The surface area of a single gram – 230 square
meters – corresponds almost to the surface area of a tennis court. The special feature of the
naturally layered TOXISORB® Premium is its structure consisting of different layers with
diverging properties.
THE DIFFERENT LAYERS OF TOXISORB®
PREMIUM offer perfect binding conditions for
a broad range of mycotoxins.
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With its open structure, the clay mineral also offers many different toxins – regardless of
their charge or structure – perfect conditions for binding: the hydrophilic and hydrophobic
layers react with the polar and nonpolar »counterparts« of the mycotoxin molecules and
firmly bind them to themselves. This broad efficacy is also confirmed by investigations
certifying that TOXISORB® Premium has shown excellent effectiveness in binding and
thereby deactivating a broad range of mycotoxins such as aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A,
zearalenone, T-2 toxin and fumonisin in animal feed.
Natural cycle neutralizes mycotoxins and other toxins
»In one broad sweep« so to speak, TOXISORB® Premium also acts against another hazard in
the digestive tract of animals: here, certain bacteria form endotoxins and enterotoxins which
can cause fever, inflammations and diarrhea disorders. These high-molecular weight toxins
are also adsorbed by TOXISORB® Premium. Nutrients, however, pass through the mineral
unhindered and enter the blood stream through the mucous membranes. The animals are
optimally supplied and harmful toxins are finally eliminated with the digestive waste products.
Firmly attached to the clay mineral, the toxins are distributed with the dung on the fields
where they are gradually decomposed by natural soil bacteria and then metabolized. What
remains is the pure clay material which because of its properties even improves the soil.
According to analytical reports TOXISORB® Premium demonstrates very good adsorbency
and ranks excellently in comparative tests. The adsorbent capacity for the mold fungus toxin
zearalenone, for example, according to a study of the US American Trilogy Analytical
Laboratory is one and a half to nine times that of the commercial competitor products.
Clariant’s 150 years of experience in this field, its collaboration with geologists and detailed
studies form the decision making basis for specifically this clay mineral as the ideal solution
for the hazards presented by mycotoxins. The high-quality feed additive consists of a natural
mixed silicate which because of its rare deposits can only be mined in limited quantities.
Before use, it is dried and milled to an optimal grain size. It fulfils all the legal requirements
for animal food additives which is confirmed at regular intervals by the independent FAMI-QS
certification. With TOXISORB® Premium, Clariant eliminates toxic substances in animal feed
in a natural manner and therefore contributes to the health of animals and to safe foods.
WITH TOXISORB® PREMIUM, Clariant
eliminates toxic substances in animal feed in
a natural manner and therefore contributes to
the health of animals and to safe foods.
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Chemistry
EXPLAINED
ANIMATION WITH SOUND AVAILABLE AT:
WWW.INNOVATION.CLARIANT.COM
Alternative methods against mycotoxins
There are essentially two methods of combating mycotoxins in the digestive tract of animals.
Firstly, substances which bind harmful mycotoxins on their passage through the digestive
system (adsorption) and thereby remove them from the body before they can enter the
animal’s blood stream. Besides the naturally occurring TOXISORB® Premium, these also
include other, subsequently modified clay minerals or cell wall constituents of different yeast
species. Secondly, certain enzymes are supposed to render the mold fungi toxin harmless by
breaking down the toxins into products (biotransformation) which can be excreted by the
animal. The most important representatives of these two groups include:
Organophilic bentonites. Quaternary alkylammonium compounds are added to natural
bentonites, which are clay minerals. This causes a change in the pole of the originally
hydrophilic mineral surfaces to organophilic, i.e. hydrophobic surfaces. In this way, even
nonpolar mycotoxins attracted by hydrophobic surfaces are bound. One problem here is the
toxicity of ammonium compounds: they can damage cell membranes and are harmful for
aqueous organisms.
Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS). Here too, there are parallels with human nutrition: as
with brewer’s yeast products, which because of their prebiotic action promote a healthy
intestinal flora, these dietary fibers are usually obtained from the cell wall of normal brewer’s
yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The indigestible carbohydrate constituents, such
as TOXISORB® Premium, can bind a large number of mycotoxins to themselves; their
manufacture, however, is much more demanding.
Enzymes. Certain mycotoxins can be broken down into harmless products in the intestinal
tract of animals by several enzymes of various organisms. However, their range of action is
much smaller compared to the use of clay minerals; very little is yet known about the effects
of the resulting breakdown products on the animals’ metabolism.
LARGE AMOUNTS OF ANIMAL FEED are
affected by mold fungi secreting toxic metabolic
products known as mycotoxins.
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Chemistry
EXPLAINED
ANIMATION WITH SOUND AVAILABLE AT:
WWW.INNOVATION.CLARIANT.COM
The main mycotoxins in animal feeds
Aflatoxins (1) are among the most toxic mycotoxins. They usually form in climatic zones
with high temperatures and high atmospheric humidity, such as in the tropics. There are
more than 20 naturally occurring aflatoxins; they are found for example on corn, soybean,
peanuts, rice and oilseeds.
Deoxynivalenol (DON) (2) mainly colonizes all cereals, hay, legumes and mixed feed. It is a
metabolic product of the mold fungus genus Fusarium and chemically is classified among the
trichothecenes. Deoxynivalenol occurs mainly in rather cool to temperate climatic regions.
Fumonisin B1 (3) also belongs to the large family of trichothecenes. The mycotoxin is
widespread mainly in corn and silage and is not restricted to specific climatic zones.
Fumonisins are considered potentially carcinogenic for humans.
T-2 toxin (4) is another representative of the trichothecenes. It frequently occurs in
temperate climatic zones and contaminates mainly mixed fodder and cereal crops. The
»parent fungus« is Fusarium.
Ochratoxin A (5) is formed from Aspergillus and Penicillium mold fungi and among animal
feeds jeopardizes mainly corn, rice, wheat and mixed feed in cool to temperate climatic
conditions. It is, among other things, harmful for the kidneys.
Zearalenone (6) frequently occurs together with deoxynivalenol and is a metabolic product
of the Fusarium mold fungus. It is usually encountered in corn, corn silage, grain, and mixed
feed and, more rarely, also in hay. Zearalenone acts as a potent estrogen and adversely affects
the animal’s fertility.
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