Browsing by Author "Wijesinghe, W.M.H.H."

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    Effects of Feeding Pattern and Feeding Type on Occurrence of A flat oxen M, in Milk of High Producing Dairy Cows
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Wijesinghe, W.M.H.H.; Bulumulla, P.B. A .I.K.; Wijesundara, W .M.N.M.; Weerssinghe, W.M.P.B.
    The dairy sector has been identified as the priority sector for the development among other livestock sub sectors in Sri Lanka as the country is currently in the process of achieving at least 50%» self-sufficiency in milk production by year 20 15. The demand for ruminant feeds, mainly roughages and concentrates is always increasing with the increase of milk production. As there is lack of suitable lands for enough roughage production and due to their poor quality, dairy producers tend to use higher amounts of concentrate feeds, such as rice by products, maize, coconut poonac, compound animal feeds, etc. The major problem associated with concentrate Needs is declining quality by contamination with fungal toxins called “Aflatoxins". Aflatoxins (AFs) are a group of mycotoxins produced mainly by common fungi Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A, nominus that present in Goods and feedstuffs such as in cereals, nuts, etc (Zinedine el at., 2007). Aflatoxin M1 (AFMi), shydroxylated metabolite of Aflatoxin B formed in the liver subsequently occurs in milk from lactating animals consuming AFBi contaminated feed. (Lin e/ o/. 2004). Aflatoxins are associated with various health and production problems in lactating animals. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies AFM as a possible human carcinogen that has comparable liver toxicity, which can reduce the immunity of infants. Humans get those toxins through AFM, contaminated milk and milk products. Several countries have established legislation to regulate the levels of AFB in feeds and AFM in milk because of their carcinogenicity (Liner «/. , 2004). Though considerable numbers of studies have been conducted internationally, research performed locally on this matter is very limited. Thus, Sri Lanka does not have standards for maximum aflatoxin levels to be allowed in animal feeds and milk. It is important to know the amount of AFM in locally produced milk having a special significance for infants and children. A recently conducted study by Pathirana et al(20I0) to evaluate the farm gate cow milk for AFM i, revealed that 33% of the locally collected milk contained aflacoxin M with 9.2%« exceeded the European Communities/Codex Alimentarius recommended limit of 50 ng L”', highlighting the significance of the problem. The study also states that the incidence of AFM / contamination is Oren high where cows are fed with high amounts of compound concentrate needs. The occurrence of AFM under various feeding praccices under Sri Lankan conditions should be investigated to understand the effects of feeding type on the incidence of AFMi in the milk as there is no such study available currently. Therefore, this research was conducted as a preliminary study for the objectives of investigating the relationship between feeding pattern and feed type on the occurrence of AFM in cow milk collected from the up country dairy farms.
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    Effects of Feeding Type on the Occurrence of Aflatoxin M1 in Milk of High Producing Dairy Cows
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Wijesinghe, W.M.H.H.
    Cow milk is an important source of nutrition in human, especially in infants. a Contamination of milk with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), when cows are fed with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contaminated feed, is a threat to human health as well as to the animals and dairy farmers. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin M, in raw milk obtained from high producing cows and evaluate the relationship between feeding type and detected AFM1 levels. Ten dairy farms were randomly selected from Hatton Veterinary Surgeon's area for the collection of raw milk samples and they were analysed for AFM1 using the Official Methods of Analysis of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) International in addition to detecting AFM1 levels by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a fluorescence detector, consisting 360 nm and 440 nm for excitation and emission wavelengths respectively. Identification of AFM1 in the milk samples was based on its retention time with respect to the daily prepared AFM1 standard (500 [tg U1). OcCurrence of AFM1 was detected in 50% of the collected samples ranging from 8 ng U 1 to 36 ng L-1 with a mean level of 11.1 ng L-1. None of the samples were exceeded the European Communities/Codex Alimentarius recommended limit of 50 ng L-1. Grasses given to the animals' diets showed no relationship with the occurrence of AFM1 while concentrate feeds had a significant relationship with AFM1 contamination. Out of the three types of concentrate feeds given to the animals, coconut poonac had the highest correlation with the occurrence of AFM1 having a value of 0.65, while compound cattle feed and beer pulp having correlations of 0.52 and 0.41 respectively. Occurrence of AFM1 had increased with concentrate feeds. Increasing grass content in the diet had reduced AFM1 occurrence in milk. The results suggest the importance of protecting feeds, especially concentrates, from aflatoxin like fungal growth during storage to minimize the risk of contamination of raw cow milk which is considered to be a health hazard threat.