Prevention of aflatoxicosis in farm animals by means of hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate addition to feedstuffs: A review

Mycotoxins are a wide group of fungal toxins that have been associated with severe toxic effects in man and animals. Aflatoxins are the most dangerous of these fungal secondary metabolites. Because there is no definitive way in which complete detoxification of food and feed contaminated with mycotoxins can be achieved, new methods to eliminate mycotoxicosis are sought. Hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS), a sorbent compound obtained from natural zeolite, has demonstrated an ability to sorb mycotoxins with a high affinity. Addition of this compound to feedstuffs contaminated with aflatoxins has shown a protective effect against the development of aflatoxicosis in farm animals. Several authors have postulated that the main mechanism implicated in this process could be chemisorption of the toxins through the formation of a stable complex comprising HSCAS and the mycotoxins. This complex is not able to cross the luminal membrane of the gastrointestinal tract and therefore the bioavailability of aflatoxins is reduced in a dose-dependent manner. This review comments on the in vitro and in vivo application of HSCAS to sorb aflatoxins and other mycotoxins. The effect on animal performance of dietary addition of HSCAS to feedstuffs contaminated with mycotoxins is discussed in a variety of farm animals. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.