Comparative study on the aflatoxin B1 degradation ability of rumen fluid from Holstein steers and Korean native goats

The aflatoxin B1 degrading abilities of two different ruminants were compared in this study. One set of experiments evaluated the aflatoxin B1 degradation ability of different rumen fluid donors (steers vs. goats) as well as the rumen fluid filtration method (cheese cloth filtered vs. 0.45 microm Millipore) in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. Additional studies examined aflatoxin B1 degradation by collecting rumen fluid at different times (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 h) after feeding. Cannulated Holstein steers (740 +/- 10 kg bw) and Korean native goats (26 +/- 3 kg bw) were fed a 60% timothy and 40% commercial diet with free access to water. Rumen fluid from Korean native goats demonstrated higher (p < 0.01) aflatoxin B1 degradability than Holstein steers. However, filtration method had no significant influence on degradability. In addition, aflatoxin degradation did not depend upon rumen fluid collection time after feeding, as no significant differences were observed. Finally, a comparison of two types of diet high in roughage found aflatoxin degradability in goats was higher with timothy hay opposed to rice straw, although individual variation existed. Thus, our findings showed the aflatoxin degradability is comparatively higher in goats compared to steers.