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Natural occurrence of Fusarium spp. and concentrations of mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in the grain of the winter wheat moderately susceptible to Fusarium head blight (FHB) has been studied. Grain samples were collected from wheat crops intended mainly for human consumption. All wheat crops were treated with fungicides before (a.i. flutriafol - formulated as Fluoco, applied in dose of 0.5 l ha-1) and during the flowering phase of growing (a.i. thiophanate-methyl + epoxiconazole formulated as Eskorta plus and a.i. thiophanate-methyl formulated as Funomil, applied in doses of 0.75 and 0.5 l ha-1, respectivily). Among of Fusarium species only F. graminearum, as a well known producer of DON, was identified. This fungus was identified in 15 of 19 samples (78.9%) with incidence in positive samples of 2 to 28% (average, 14.0%). Presence of DON was established in 13 of a total 19 investigated wheat grain samples (68.4%). In positive samples DON was detected in concentrations from 69 to 918 μg kg-1 (average, 478 μg kg-1). DON showed a significant and positive correlation at P≥0.05 with grain moisture content (r = 0.52*). Between the frequency of F. graminearum and concentration of DON and between the frequency of F. graminearum and grain moisture content, positive correlation was determined, but without statistical significance (r = 0.44 and r = 0.29, respectively).

The biological experiment was conducted in order to investigate the influence of synbiotic addition in broiler's nutrition on productive performance and antioxidative status. In the control treatment (T1) the broilers were fed with commercial mixtures of standard composition and quality. Experimental broilers were fed with the same mixtures supplemented with synbiotic (T2) or antibiotic salinomycin (T3). During the preparation period chickens received a starter mixture without additions, thereafter, chickens were fed with finisher mixtures according to the experimental design. At the end of the experiment (day 42) chickens in experimental treatments T2 and T3 achieved significantly (p<0.05) higher final body masses compared to the chickens in T1 treatment. Also, after completing the trial, significantly (p<0.05) lower feed conversion ratios were noticed in experimental treatments compared to treatment T1. Chicken mortality rate was the lowest in treatment T2 and the highest in treatment T1. The significantly lowest (p<0.05) serum malondialdehyde content was recorded in treatment T2, followed by treatments T3 and T1, respectively, while the highest GSH content was in treatment T2. On the basis of obtained findings, it can be concluded that the addition of synbiotic in chicken's nutrition had positive impact on productive performance and antioxidative protection in broilers blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spices, herbs and medicinal plants as a feed supplements present promising alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters due to their high content of bioactive substances. A large number of experiments have confirmed a wide range of activities of spices in poultry nutrition such as stimulation of feed intake, antimicrobial, antioxidative and coccidiostat stimulation, increase of body weight gain, lowering the mortality rate and improvement of the blood and tissue lipid profile. The present paper gives a review on the characteristics of hot red pepper and its mode of action in broilers nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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The accelerated ageing test method (AA), agar plate method (A) and blotter method (B) have been used to detect the Rhizomucor pusillus and other mycobita on 24 samples of sunflower seed. Sterilised and unsterilised sunflower seeds have been incubated at 25ºC and 42ºC in the dark for 72 and 144 hours. The fungus was not detected in any sample at 25ºC, not even after 144 h incubation of seeds. The fungal frequency ranged from 58.3 (B method) to 75.0% (A method) and from 4.2% (B method) to 16.7% (AA method) after 72 h incubation of unsterilised and sterilised samples at 42ºC, respectively. The fungal incidence was 25.5% (AA method), 21.9% (A method) and 20.3% (B method) after 72 h incubation of unsterilised seed, and 2% on sterilised seed in all three applied methods. By extended incubation of unsterilised and sterilised seeds up to 144 h at 42°C the frequency and incidence of the fungus did not significantly change. The results of the present research show that the AA test method, widely applied in seed longevity testing, can be used as a simple and efficient method for the detection of R. pusillus as well as other mycobiota on sunflower seed. Furthermore, these are the first data on determining the presence of R. pusillus in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the presence of moulds and mycotoxins in samples of stored maize grains in the period from October 2011 to September 2012 was investigated. Mycological analyses of whole and broken grains showed the presence of species from the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Rhizopus and others. Among the Aspergillus and Fusarium genera as potentially toxigenic fungi, Aspergillus flavus was identified with the highest percentage on broken grains (20.38%) whereas F. verticilioides was the predominant species in the whole maize grains (34.04%). In addition, it was obtained that tested samples of stored maize grains were 100% positive with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) with an average concentration of 1.39 μg kg-1, 71.79 μg kg-1, 128.17 μg kg-1, and 1610.83 μg kg-1, respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between the moisture content and the presence of Fusarium spp. on the broken grains (r = 0.44) and between the moisture content and the concentration of DON (r = 0.61). However, a significant negative correlation was found between moisture content and FB1 (r = -0.34), and between the concentration of ZON and DON mycotoxins (r = -0.58). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the mycological and mycotoxicological contamination of maize silage samples collected from the bottom (BL), middle (ML) and top (TL) layer in the silage trench silo was studied. Mycological testing of the silage contamination showed the presence of five potential toxigenic fungi of the genera, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium and Rhizopus with their total number ranging from 1 to 10 x 10&sup3 CFU g-1. Also, four mycotoxins were detected as followed, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisin B1 (FB1). Mycotoxins AFB1 and FB1 were detected as 100% positive in all the samples tested. An average concentration of AFB1 was 2.31 μg kg-1, 2.51 μg kg-1 and 2.81 μg kg-1 in BL, ML and TL respectively, while the concentration of FB1 was 1292.00 μg kg-1, 1298.00 μg kg-1 and 1902.00 μg kg-1 in BL, TL and ML respectively. Average concentration of toxin ZON in positive samples was 15.69 μg kg-1 in BL and 30.68 μg kg-1 in ML, while its presence in the samples taken from the top layer was not detected. An average concentration of DON toxin in positive samples were in the range of 41.71 μg kg-1 for TL, 79.20 μg kg-1 for ML, while it was 97.00 μg kg-1 for BL. There was no statistically significant correlation between moisture content and total number of moulds and concentrations of certain mycotoxins. However, statistically highly significant correlations between the total number of moulds and AFB1 concentration (r = 1.0), ZON (r = 0.99) and FB1 (r = 0.91) were established, while weak correlation was obtained in the case of DON and total mould counts (r = 0.54). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to investigate sunflower meal processing technology which enables adequate breaking up of the conglomerates, i.e., detaching of the protein core from the adhered hull and allowing for the hull separation by mechanical fractionation. Sunflower meal from the regular production of a domestic oil extraction plant, of the standard, pre-determined quality, with lower (sample 1) and higher (sample 2) percentage of conglomerates was used as a starting research material. Roll crusher was used for breaking up of the conglomerates. Particles larger than 5.0 mm were almost completely crushed in both samples, whereas percentage of particles larger than 2.0 mm was reduced by 17.6% in sample 1 and by 36.9% in sample 2. At the same time, percentage of particles smaller than 1.0 mm was increased by 6.9% in sample 1 and by 23.3% in sample 2, indicating that crushing of larger particles is more intense in both samples. Fractionation process on centrifugal separator results in the increased yield of high-protein sunflower meal (passing through the sieve) from 31.72 to 59.33%, while crude protein is reduced only from 0.25 to 0.68% of absolute value. As a result, obtained products passing through the sieve mesh size 1.5 and 1.8 mm are within the limits prescribed for the high quality sunflower meal. Preliminary treating by roll crusher upgrade the sunflower meal processing technology by increasing the yield of high protein sunflower meal and allow better valorisation of this feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The food of animal origin that is the most consumed is the table egg, but laying hens treated with antibiotics can produce eggs contaminated with antibiotic residues. Residues of antibiotics may present a risk for consumer health. Keeping in mind that laying hens almost always suffer from Mycoplasma ( Mycoplasma synoviae ), for which they are treated with antibiotics, high-quality egg production is even harder. Our research aimed to investigate the influence of three different antibiotics compared to the tea tree ( Melaleuca alternifolia ) essential oil administered to naturally infected laying hens with M. synoviae , on antibiotic residues in eggs as well as the egg nutritive and sensory qualities. A total of 20,000 laying hens, housed in one facility and divided into four lines each consisting of 5000 hens naturally infected with M. synoviae , was used. For the antimicrobial therapy, tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC) and chlortetracycline (CTC) were used, respectively. As a control, tea tree essential oil (TT) was used. Based on the gained results all tetracyclines treatment residue values were significantly ( p < 0.05) higher compared to the control treatment (TT), but without any significant differences ( p > 0.05) between themselves. The results showed no differences in the nutritive and the sensory qualities of eggs between the control and the experimental treatments ( p > 0.05). Keeping in mind the obtained results from this study, it can be concluded that tea tree essential oil could be successfully used as a natural antibiotic in the treatment of M. synoviae , without any adverse effects on table egg quality.

Fusarium species, particularly Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum, are the main cause of trichothecene type B contamination in cereals. Data on the distribution of Fusarium trichothecene genotypes in cereals in Europe are scattered in time and space. Furthermore, a common core set of related variables (sampling method, host cultivar, previous crop, etc.) that would allow more effective analysis of factors influencing the spatial and temporal population distribution, is lacking. Consequently, based on the available data, it is difficult to identify factors influencing chemotype distribution and spread at the European level. Here we describe the results of a collaborative integrated work which aims (1) to characterize the trichothecene genotypes of strains from three Fusarium species, collected over the period 2000-2013 and (2) to enhance the standardization of epidemiological data collection. Information on host plant, country of origin, sampling location, year of sampling and previous crop of 1147 F. graminearum, 479 F. culmorum, and 3 F. cortaderiae strains obtained from 17 European countries was compiled and a map of trichothecene type B genotype distribution was plotted for each species. All information on the strains was collected in a freely accessible and updatable database (www.catalogueeu.luxmcc.lu), which will serve as a starting point for epidemiological analysis of potential spatial and temporal trichothecene genotype shifts in Europe. The analysis of the currently available European dataset showed that in F. graminearum, the predominant genotype was 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON) (82.9%), followed by 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON) (13.6%), and nivalenol (NIV) (3.5%). In F. culmorum, the prevalent genotype was 3-ADON (59.9%), while the NIV genotype accounted for the remaining 40.1%. Both, geographical and temporal patterns of trichothecene genotypes distribution were identified.

In the present study the effects of individual and combined essential oils (EOs) extracted from onion (Allium cepa L.) bulb and garlic (Allium sativum L.) clove on the growth of Aspergillus versicolor and sterigmatocystin (STC) production were investigated. The EOs obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed by GC/MS. Twenty one compounds were identified in onion EO. The major components were: dimethyl-trisulfide (16.64%), methyl-propyl-trisulfide (14.21%), dietil-1,2,4-tritiolan (3R,5S-, 3S,5S- and 3R,5R- isomers) (13.71%), methyl-(1-propenyl)-disulfide (13.14%), and methyl-(1-propenyl)-trisulfide (13.02%). The major components of garlic EO were diallyl-trisulfide (33.55%), and diallyl-disulfide (28.05%). The mycelial growth and the STC production were recorded after 7, 14, and 21 d of the A. versicolor growth in Yeast extract sucrose (YES) broth containing different EOs concentrations. Compared to the garlic EO, the onion EO showed a stronger inhibitory effect on the A. versicolor mycelial growth and STC production. After a 21-d incubation of fungi 0.05 and 0.11 μg/mL of onion EO and 0.11 μg/mL of garlic EO completely inhibited the A. versicolor mycelial growth and mycotoxins biosynthesis. The combination of EOs of onion (75%) and garlic (25%) had a synergistic effect on growth inhibition of A. versicolor and STC production., (© 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®)

The formation of conidia in Phaeocytostroma ambiguum on different media and conditions was investigated in this study. Carnation leaf agar (CLA) and a 12 h photoperiod (24/18 degrees C) provided excellent conditions for the promotion of rapid formation of both alpha (alpha) and beta (beta) conidia in a number of P. ambiguum isolates. The dimensions of alpha- and beta-conidia amounted to 6.0-19.6 x 3.8-7.5 microm and 6.0-24.9 x 1.1-2.6 microm, respectively. They were produced on short or elongate, simple and branched conidiophores. beta-conidia have not been described before in P. ambiguum. Intermediate conidia were rarely found.

Results obtained by several approaches in the application of Biotechnology in maize breeding are reviewed. RFLP technology in the determination of genetic variation; gene transfer by the use of different methods of gene delivery and the determination of gene integration. Three technologies for foreign gene introduction have been applied; injection of plasmid pRT100 neo into archesporial tissue before micro and macro sporogenesis, slightly modified pollen-tube pathway technology and dry seed incubation in plasmid DNA solution. NPTII gene integration was followed by dot-blot and Southern blot analysis of plant DNA of both T1 and T2 plants. Gene expression was analysed by neomycin phosphotransferase activity. Transformed plants contained the selective NPTII gene sequence in an active form. Bacterial gene integration induced several heritable changes of plant phenotype. As an important change, alteration of the flowering time has been used as a criterion for selection and plant propagation to keep transformed progeny. Besides plant genome transformation, endogenous bacteria living in different maize tissue were found. As a perspective approach for biotechnology application in maize breeding biological vaccine construction has been selected. Therefore, antagonistic effect of gram positive bacterial strains to several pathogenic fungi was investigated. Results obtained after in vivo experiments are discussed.