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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 TOXISORB® PREMIUM | Innovation Spotlight Page 1 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. TOXISORB® PREMIUM | Innovation Spotlight Page 2 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. TOXISORB® PREMIUM | Innovation Spotlight Page 3 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. TOXISORB® PREMIUM | Innovation Spotlight Page 4 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. TOXISORB® PREMIUM | Innovation Spotlight 1 2 3 4 5 6 Page 5