Frequently (and not so frequently) Asked Questions
BRIEF: Could you give me some information concerning vomitoxin?
QUESTION:
I am writing to you at the request of my father who also studied here way back.
He works as a consultant nutritionist in Ireland, and there has recently been a
rise in the interest in the Fusarium mold vomitoxin and it's effects on animal
health. Grain only makes up a small proportion of the diet of the
average Irish dairy cow. However, certain animal feed manufacturers
are now promoting the use of agents to reduce or wipe out vomitoxins in
the feeds. Could you give me some indication of the level which is
required (a) in the grain, and (b) in the total diet to cause illness
or poor performance.
ANSWER:
The biggest problem with DON (deoxynivalenol, a.k.a vomitoxin) is that
it depresses feed intake. In pigs, 10ppm DON can put hogs off their
feed. This is actually a good thing, because very often, when DON is
present, so are even worse trichothene toxicants that can really screw
an animal up. less than 1ppm of T-2 (one of the other nasty
trichothenes) can cause hemorrhages and 0.2mg/kg BW can put a dairy cow
off feed and give it ulcers!
There are probably a lot of similar toxins that we have not yet
identified and DON, one that we know, serves as an indicator that
molding has occurred and other toxins may be present.