Determination of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin a in Dairy Cattle Feed and Milk in Wad Medani, Sudan

Aflatoxins and Ochratoxins are highly carcinogenic agents consistently found as food and feed contaminants leading to health risks in both human and animal. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A contamination and their levels in dairy cattle feed and milk samples in Wad Medani, central Sudan. Validated and specific methods were used for extraction of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A from both feed and milk, then separated and determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The samples were collected from five farms in al Bohoth, al Kiraiba, Atrah, Hantoub and Brakat according to type of feeding and examined. The results showed that 6 out of 9 (66.67%) of the feed samples were contaminated by aflatoxins at concentration ranging between 2.79 and 147.13 mu g kg(-1), while ochratoxin A was detected in 7 out of 9 (77.78%) of the samples concentrations ranging from 0.22-1.59 mu g kg(-1). Aflatoxin B1 (AfB1) was the most common contaminant which was detected in 5 out of 9 (55.56%) samples followed by Aflatoxin G1 (AfG1) and Aflatoxin G2 (AfG2) both were detected in 2 out of 9 (22.22%) samples and aflatoxin B2(AfB2) which was detected in 1 out of 9 (11.11%) samples. Aflatoxin M I (AfM1) was detected in 3 out of 5 (60.00%) milk samples at average concentration of 0.16 mu g L-1, whereas ochratoxin A was detected in 1 out of 5 (20.00%) (2.73 mu g L-1) milk samples.