Occurrence of Aflatoxin B1 Producing Fungi in Finished Commercial Broiler Feed in Quetta
Occurrence of Aflatoxin B1 Producing Fungi in Finished Commercial Broiler Feed in Quetta
Nadeem Rashid1,*, Masroor Ahmad Bajwa1, Mohammad Masood Tariq1, Tanvir Ahmad2, Majed Rafeeq1, Zafar Ahmad1, Mohammad Arif Awan1, Mohammad Ali1, Muhammad Zahid Mustafa1, Muhammad Shafee1, Asad Ulah1 and Amanullah Khan3
ABSTRACT
Occurrence of Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) in finished commercial broiler feed and among the isolated strains of A. flavus having capacity to produce aflatoxin was investigated in this study. Finished commercial broiler feed samples (n=96) were collected from broiler chicken farms in and around Quetta district. Physical properties i.e. moisture and pH were determined by oven drying and pH meter, respectively. Viable fungal count of the feed samples was estimated by using spread plate technique. Identification of fungal isolates was carried out on the basis of cultural and morphological characters by using slide culture technique. While mean moisture percentage was recorded as 5.3% with a significant difference (P<0.05), the pH was noted to be slightly acidic with non-significant difference (P>0.05) among seasons. Overall mean viable fungal count was 4.72 × 103±708 with a significant association (P<0.05) among seasons. Out comes from study showed that, 44.8% of the assayed samples were contaminated with A. flavus. From them,48.8% of isolates were capable of producing aflatoxin B1. The study revealed the need of regular mycological monitoring of compound commercial feed in order to make control strategies and prevent toxic syndromes to this type of contamination.
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June 2017
Vol. 49, Iss. 3, Pages 761-1149
