Incidence of aflatoxin M(1) in cows’ milk in Pakistan, effects on milk quality and evaluation of therapeutic management in dairy animals

The present study was aimed at measuring the concentration of aflatoxin M(1) (AFM(1)) in the milk of Holstein Friesian cows, its effect on the milk quality and seasonal trends, as well as to investigate the efficacy of a commercial clay-based toxin binder. For this purpose, milk samples from dairy cows (n = 72) were collected and assayed for AFM(1) before employing a clay-based toxin binder. The milk samples (n = 72) were collected from selected animals, revealing that 69.4% of the milk samples had AFM(1) levels above the United States permissible limit (0.5 μg/kg). The incidence of AFM(1) in milk during the winter and summer was 82.5% and 53.1%, respectively. Owing to the presence of AFM(1), the level of milk fat, solids-not-fat, and protein were found to be low. Subsequently, the affected animals were divided into two groups, i.e., AFM(1) positive control (n = 10) and the experimental group (n = 40). The experimental group of animals were fed the clay-based toxin binder at 25 g/animal/day. A progressive decrease of 19.8% in the AFM(1) levels was observed on day 4 and on day 7 (53.6%) in the treatment group. Furthermore, the fat, solids-non-fat and protein increased significantly in the milk. In conclusion, a high level of AFM(1) contamination occurs in the milk in Pakistan, affecting the quality of the milk production. Clay-based toxin binders may be used to ensure the milk quality and to protect the animal and consumer health.