Occurrence and seasonal variation of aflatoxin M1 in raw cow milk collected from different regions of Algeria

Vet World Vol.13 March-2020 Article-6

Research Article

Veterinary World, 13(3): 433-439

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2020.433-439

Sarah Mohammedi-Ameur^1,2, Mohammedi Dahmane¹, Carlo Brera³, Moustafa Kardjadj^1,2, and Meriem Hind Ben-Mahdi¹

1. Laboratory of Animal Health and Productions, Higher National Veterinary School, Algiers, Algeria.
2. High School of Food Sciences and Food Industries (ESSAIA), Algiers, Algeria.
3. Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Food Chemistry Unit, Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), Viale Regina Elena, 299, Rome, Italy.

Background and Aim: Aflatoxins are metabolites of molds that exert potentially toxic effect on animals and humans. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in raw cow milk collected during 1 year (2016-2017) from different regions of Algeria and risk factors associated with the contamination.

Materials and Methods: During the survey period, 84 samples of raw milk were collected in three regions of Algeria (northeast, north center, and northwest) during four seasons. AFM1 levels were analyzed by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: AFM1 was detected in 39 (46.43%) samples (total mean concentration, 71.92 ng/L; range, 95.59-557.22 ng/L). However, the AFM1 levels exceeded the maximum tolerance limit set by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA (500 ng/L) in only 1 sample (1.19%). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences (p<0.005) between AFM1 levels in milk samples collected in the spring and autumn. The mean AFM1 levels in samples collected in the spring were significantly higher than those in samples collected in autumn.

Conclusion: The survey indicates that farmers involved in milk production should be made aware of the adverse effects of aflatoxin contamination in animal feed. A systematic control program of supplementary feedstuff for lactating cows should be introduced by the public health authorities. Keywords: aflatoxin M1, Algeria, cow milk, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Keywords: aflatoxin M1, Algeria, cow milk, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

How to cite this article: Mohammedi-Ameur S, Dahmane M, Brera C, Kardjadj M, Ben-Mahdi MH (2020) Occurrence and seasonal variation of aflatoxin M1 in raw cow milk collected from different regions of Algeria, Veterinary World, 13(3): 433-439.

Received: 07-11-2019 Accepted: 21-01-2020 Published online: 09-03-2020

Corresponding author: Sarah Mohammedi-Ameur E-mail: sarahmohammedi.ameur@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.433-439

Copyright: Mohammedi-Ameur, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.