Effects of Heating, Pelleting, and Feed Matrix on Apparent Concentrations of Cereal Ergot Alkaloids in Relation to Growth Performance and Welfare Parameters of Backgrounding Beef Steers.

As the contamination of cereal grains with ergot has been increasing in Western Canada, studies were undertaken to evaluate the impacts of heating (60, 80, 120, or 190 °C) alone or in combination with pelleting on concentrations of ergot alkaloids. Fifteen samples of ergot-contaminated grain from Alberta and Saskatchewan were assayed for R and S epimers of six alkaloids (ergocryptine, ergocristine, ergocornine, ergometrine, ergosine, and ergotamine) using HPLC MS/MS. Five samples with distinct alkaloid profiles were then selected for heating and pelleting studies.

Effects of Feeding a Mycotoxin Binder on Nutrient Digestibility, Alkaloid Recovery in Feces, and Performance of Lambs Fed Diets Contaminated with Cereal Ergot.

As contamination with cereal ergot has been increasing in western Canada, this study evaluated impacts of feeding a mycotoxin binder (Biomin II; BB) on nutrient digestibility, alkaloid recovery in feces, and lamb growth performance. Forty-eight ram lambs (25.9 ± 1.

Effects of Continuously Feeding Diets Containing Cereal Ergot Alkaloids on Nutrient Digestibility, Alkaloid Recovery in Feces, and Performance Traits of Ram Lambs.

Allowable limits for cereal ergot alkaloids in livestock feeds are being re-examined, and the objective of this study was to compare nutrient digestibility, growth performance and carcass characteristics of ram lambs fed a range of alkaloid concentrations, including the maximum currently allowed in Canada (2 to 3 ppm). Four pelleted diets were fed: control, with no added alkaloids; 930; 1402; and 2447 ppb alkaloids based on total and epimers. Eight ram lambs (30.

A novel approach for a functional group to predict protein in undigested residue and protein digestibility by mid-infrared spectroscopy.

To evaluate nutrient digestibility, we propose the novel approach of functional group digestibility (FGD). The FGD was based on the absorbance of specific Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) peaks and the ratio of an inorganic indigestible marker in diet and digesta, without calibration. For application, samples of diet and digesta of wheat with predetermined crude protein (CP) digestibility were scanned on an FT-IR spectrometer equipped with a single-reflection attenuated total reflection (ATR) attachment.