DON were completely transformed to the reportedly less toxic deepoxy DON or DOM-1 within 24 hours when incubated in rumen fluid. More than half of the DON remained from the 50 and 100 ppm DON treatments at 24 hours incubation. Work in sheep had Zearalenone transformed into the reportedly more toxic Zearalenol. Bottomline on molds and mycotoxins in ruminant rations Effects of molds and mycotoxins on ruminants are highly variable in practice. It is impossible to predict the effects that molds or mycotoxins are likely to have in an individual situation.
Ruminants are able to detoxify or transform mycotoxins to other metabolites, mostly less harmful.
Ruminants are nevertheless susceptible to the deleterious effects of molds and mycotoxins in feed. Young pre-ruminant and high producing cattle are the most susceptible to the effects of mycotoxins. This information is provided as a public service, but we cannot guarantee that the information is current or accurate. Readers should verify the information before acting on it.