Detoxification of Aflatoxin by Yeast Sludge in the Feed of Dairy Cattle and Its Impact on Increased Milk Production

This study was conducted to determine the aflatoxin detoxification by yeast sludge in the feed of Sahiwal dairy cattle and established its dietary effect on the increased milk production. Aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus parasiticus on rice were mixed into the feed of dairy cattle and fed to lactating Sahiwal cows for 14 days. Cows were randomly divided into three groups to receive either no aflatoxins A (control), B (500 ppb aflatoxin) or C (500 ppb aflatoxin and 1 % yeast sludge). Feed intake and milk production was recorded from each animal. Milk samples were collected from each animal on every other day after initiation of treatment for estimation of aflatoxin M1, milk fat, solid not fat (SNF) and total solids. The values of aflatoxins M1 (ppb) residues in milk at the end of treatment were 2.87±0.76, 15.51 ± 2.63 and 12.74 ± 1.02, respectively (P < 0.05). The feed intake (kg) of cows fed aflatoxins was lowest (163.37 ± 2.27) and highest with aflatoxins + yeast sludge (177.0 ± 1.99) than control (170.1 ± 1.98) (P < 0.05). However, the milk production remained insignificant due to treatment and was 7.5 ± 1.32, 7.1 ± 0.79 and 8.3 ± 0.47 kg for groups A, B and C, respectively. Similarly, the mean values of milk components for groups A, B and C also showed non-significant differences which were 4.09 ± 0.43, 4.06 ± 0.43 and 4.29 ± 0.34, respectively for fat; 8.89 ± 0.49, 8.58 ± 0.15 and 8.74 ± 0.21, respectively for SNF and 12.94 ± 0.47, 12.64 ± 0.46 and 13.03 ± 0.55, respectively for total solids. The results of the study showed that yeast sludge can detoxify feed aflatoxin and ultimately improves feed intake as well as having tendency to improve milk production and milk quality of the animals.