Changes in the nutrient profile and the load of toxins in horse pastures

Changes in the nutrient profile and the load of mycotoxins, phytoestrogens, and pesticides in horse pastures during spring and summer in Austria
J Equine Vet Sci. 2023 Nov 2:104958. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104958. Online ahead of print.
Authors
Viola Son 1 , Felipe Penagos-Tabares 2 , Manfred Hollmann 1 , Ratchaneewan Khiaosa-Ard 1 , Michael Sulyok 3 , Rudolf Krska 4 , Qendrim Zebeli 5
Affiliations

1 Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
2 Unit of Nutritional Physiology, Institute of Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Biophysics, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria; FFoQSI GmbH – Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation, Technopark 1C 3430 Tulln, Austria.
3 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 20, 3430 Tulln an der Donau, Austria.
4 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 20, 3430 Tulln an der Donau, Austria; Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
5 Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: qendrim.zebeli@vetmeduni.ac.at.

PMID: 37925115
DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104958

Abstract

Pastures are used for grazing and the production of conserved roughage in horses. Yet, the nutritional profile of the forage varies from spring to late summer, affecting equine nutrient supply and health. In addition, environmental factors may also favor plant contaminants such as mycotoxins. This study aimed to determine the nutritional profile and contaminant load of selected horse pastures from early spring till late summer. The nutrient composition (main macronutrients, macro elements and trace elements), as well as mycotoxins, metabolites, pesticides, and plant-derived compounds of seven horse pastures were analyzed. Each pasture was sampled three times and the samples were categorized according to the status of the pasture plants: ear emergence, early- till full bloom, and drought-damaged vegetation. Drought-damaged pastures demonstrated a rise in the acid to neutral detergent fiber ratio, calcium, iron, and magnesium but lower potassium contents. Mycotoxins and other contaminants were found in the pastures including 64 fungal compounds (ergot alkaloids (13) and metabolites from Fusarium (21), Aspergillus (2), Penicillium (8), Alternaria (8) and other fungal species (12), one bacterial metabolite (cereulide), twelve plant metabolites (including eight phytoestrogens and three cyanogenic glycosides (linamarin, lotaustralin and prunasin)), 11 nonspecific metabolites and six pesticides. Fusarium metabolites showed the highest concentrations among the fungal metabolites (range: 123 – 3873 µg/kg DM) and drought-induced stress increased the contamination levels. In conclusion, there was a dominant effect of the developmental stages of the plants, botanical composition of the pastures and weather conditions on the nutritional composition and presence of contaminants on pastures.

Keywords: Botanical Composition; Mycotoxins; Nutritional Profile; Pasture; Phytoestrogens; Season.

Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.