Airborne molds and mycotoxins associated with handling of corn silage and oilseed cakes in agricultural environment

• Published in: Atmospheric environment (1994) Vol. 44; no. 16; pp. 1980 - 1986
• Main Authors: Lanier, Caroline, Richard, Estelle, Heutte, Natacha, Picquet, Rachel, Bouchart, Valérie, Garon, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agricultural environment; Aspergillus fumigatus; Bioaerosols; Biodiversity and Ecology; Earth, ocean, space; Environmental Sciences; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Meteorology; Molds; Mycotoxins; Particles and aerosols; Penicillium roqueforti; France, Normandy; Agricultural environment; Molds; Mycotoxins; Bioaerosols; aerosols; monitoring; contamination; Fungi; Aspergillus; Health and environment; Bioaerosol; spores; Air pollution; Mould; Fungi Imperfecti; seasonal variations; Public health; Agricultural environment Bioaerosols Molds Mycotoxins
• ISSN: 1352-2310; 1873-2844
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.02.040

In agricultural areas, the contamination of feedstuffs with molds and mycotoxins presents major environmental and health concerns. During cattle feeding, fungi and mycotoxins were monitored in corn silage, oilseed cakes and bioaerosols collected in Normandy. Most of the corn silages were found to be contaminated by deoxynivalenol (mean concentration: 1883 μg kg
−1) while a few of oilseed cakes were contaminated by alternariol, fumonisin B
1 or gliotoxin. In ambient bioaerosols, the values for fungi per cubic meter of air varied from 4.3 × 10
2 to 6.2 × 10
5 cfu m
−3. Seasonal variations were observed with some species like
Aspergillus fumigatus which significantly decreased between the 2 seasons (
P = 0.0186) while the
Penicillium roqueforti group significantly increased during the second season (
P = 0.0156). In the personal bioaerosols, the values for fungi per cubic meter of air varied from 3.3 10
3 to 1.7 10
6 cfu m
−3 and the number of
A. fumigatus spores significantly decreased between the 2 seasons (
P = 0.0488). Gliotoxin, an immunosuppressive mycotoxin, was quantified in 3 personal filters at 3.73 μg m
−3, 1.09 μg m
−3 and 2.97 μg m
−3.