Estimation of aflatoxin B1 in poultry feed ingredients collected from different poultry farms and markets of Lahore,Pakistan

Aflatoxins when present in feed pose a great threat to poultry birds. The present study was designed to estimate the levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in different poultry feed ingredients (canola meal,corn,corn gluten 30%,corn gluten 60%,soya bean meal,sunflower meal,cotton seed cake and cotton seed meal) collected from different poultry farms and markets of Lahore,Pakistan. The study was conducted over a period of three years (2009-12) and each year was further divided into 3 periods according to environmental conditions of Lahore i.e. Jul-Oct (hot and humid),Nov- Feb (winter/cold) and Mar-Jun (dry and hot) and in each period 90 samples were analyzed for each ingredient constituting a total of 810 samples for each ingredient and analysis was done using Enzyme Linked Immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). It was noticed that the incidence of AFB1 was highest in all ingredients during rainy season (Jul-Oct) followed by that found in Mar-Jun. However,the mean levels of AFB1 were minimum during Nov-Feb (winter) in all ingredients except sun flower meal and cotton seed cake which showed high prevalence of AFB 1 throughout the study. Similarly,minimum numbers of samples were below maximum tolerable level (MTL) as recommended by FDA i.e. 20 ppb during Jul-Oct while maximum numbers of samples were below MTL during Nov-Feb resulting in lower mean levels of AFB1 during these periods as compared to rainy and dry hot seasons. This is the first most elaborative study regarding the levels of AFB1 in poultry feed ingredients collected from Lahore,Pakistan showing a huge number of samples for each ingredient.