Fungal species and multiple mycotoxin contamination of cultivated grasses and legumes crops

The quality of grasses and legumes crops used for animal feed for the combined determination of fungal species and mycotoxin measurements were explored in samples collected from the fields of stock-farms located in Northwestern part of Russia. The occurrence of aflatoxin B-1, alternariol, citrinin, cyclopiazonic and mycophenolic acids, deoxynivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, emodin, ergot alkaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, PR-toxin, roridin A, sterigmatocystin, T-2 toxin and zearalenone, were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The most common fungi were Cladosporium, followed by Phoma, Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Acremonium and Fusarium. Invariably high incidence of alternariol, cyclopiazonic acid, emodin and ergot alkaloids was detected in all forage types. The contribution of the fusariotoxin contamination appeared to be less significant. The grasses and grass-legume mixtures before the first cut for the year were similar in terms of high incidence of sterigmatocystin. The plants were allowed to regrow, and the complex of four regularly occurring components was supplemented with fumonisins, mycophenolic acid, and ochratoxin A.