Mycotoxins in rabbit feed: A review

Abstract

Rabbit meat constitutes a measurable portion of the human diet. Thus, the ingredients used in rabbit feed and their contamination with undesirable substances are fundamentally important both in terms of the quality of the meat and the potential human health impacts associated with the animal-based food-production chain. The inclusion of feed ingredients which are contaminated with toxic substances may have a range of biological or toxicological effects on animal production. Rabbit feed ingredients that constitute complete feed products are derived from different raw materials and the contamination of feed materials would represent an important potential hazard. This review summarizes some of the toxic effects of mycotoxins, such as afl atoxins, ochratoxin, citritin, patulin, trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, T-2 toxin), zearalenone, fumonisins, moniliformin and fusaric acid.