Mycotoxins and Their Biotransformation in the Rumen: A Review

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi. These toxins pose serious health concerns to animals as well as human beings. Biodegradation of these mycotoxins has been considered as one of the best strategies to decontaminate food and feedstuffs. Biodegradation employs the application of microbes or enzymes to contaminated food and feedstuffs. Ruminants are considered to be resistant to the adverse effects of mycotoxins presumably due to the biodegrading ability of rumen microbes compared to mono-gastric animals. Therefore, rumen microbial source or microbial enzyme could be a great asset in biological detoxification of mycotoxins. Isolation and characterization of pure culture of rumen microorganisms or isolation and cloning of genes encoding mycotoxin-degrading potential would prove to have overall beneficial impact in the food and feed industry.