Review on Aflatoxin and its Impacts on Livestock

Food contamination occurs when something is found in the food that should not be there. The main sources of contaminations are chemicals, physicals and microorganisms which include bacteria, virus, fungi, yeast and mold. The threat of aflatoxin contamination in food commodities and its association with health risk in both animals and humans is becoming an increasing concern over years. Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins mainly produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. These aflatoxins are divided into six major toxins according to their fluorescent properties under ultraviolet light and their chromatographic mobility. Both A. flavus and A. parasiticus produce aflatoxins B1 and B2 which produce blue fluorescence, while A. parasiticus produces aflatoxins G1 and G2 which have green fluorescence.