The presence of mycotoxins in dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS), a by-product of bioethanol production from maize, has been a matter of concern due to the increasing global utilisation of this ingredient in animal feed. In this study, 186 samples of maize DDGS produced in Brazil were analysed for the presence of major mycotoxins: aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2), fumonisins (B1 and B2), zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON) and ochratoxin A (OTA). Samples were provided by the local industry between January 2017 and October 2020, and mycotoxins were quantified by LC-MS/MS. More than 98% of the analysed samples were contaminated with mycotoxins, from which 59.9% had a single mycotoxin, 29.9% two mycotoxins, and 9.1% more than two mycotoxins. The most prevalent metabolites were fumonisin B1 and B2, being detected in 98.8% (mean 3,207 μg/kg) and 97.6% (mean 1,243 μg/kg) of the samples, respectively; aflatoxin B1 had the third highest positivity, with 32.3% (mean 1.47 μg/kg), followed by ZEN, with 18.01% (mean 18.2 μg/kg), DON, with 12.9% (mean 59.6 μg/kg), and OTA was not detected. Co-occurrence of total aflatoxins (AFT = aflatoxin B1+B2+G1+G2) and total fumonisins (FBT = fumonisin B1+B2) was observed in 32.07% of the samples analysed for these mycotoxins. Co-occurrence of AFT and ZEN was found in 7.84% of the samples analysed for such mycotoxins, while FBT and DON co-occurred at 13.01%. AFT, FBT, DON and ZEN co-occurred in only one sample (0.84%). Except for FBT, a considerable number of samples presented the evaluated mycotoxins below their respective limit of quantification (LOQ) with percentages of 67.61% for AFT, 81.99% for ZEN, 87.07% for DON and 100% for OTA. Since the production of bioethanol and its by-products is growing worldwide, including in Brazil, mycotoxicological monitoring of maize DDGS is crucial to identify the effects of mycotoxins occurrence in animal feed formulated with this ingredient.

Intervalos de coletas de sêmen em reprodutores suínos no início da vida reprodutiva: avaliação dos parâmetros seminaisABSTRACT Background: In swine production, good reproduction rates can be achieved through genetic selection and reproductive biotechnologies. One of these biotechnologies is artificial insemination, which contributes to disseminate genes and optimize breeding boars, thus improving the quality of insemination doses. This study focused on evaluating the intervals between semen collection from boars at the beginning of their reproductive maturity vis-à-vis the viability of insemination doses. Materials, Methods & Results:Twenty 9-month-old boars of the genetic lineage AGPIC 337 (Agroceres PIC) were used in this study. The experimental design used here was completely randomized, and the randomly selected males were divided into four treatment groups, which were named according to the interval between semen sample collections: T1: 2 days; T2: 3 days; T3: 4 days and T4: 7 days. Each treatment comprised 5 animals, and at the end of the 90 days of this study, a total of 150 ejaculates were obtained in T1, 110 in T2, 90 in T3 and 60 in T4. The values of total motility, volume and sperm concentration of the ejaculates were evaluated, as was oxidative stress by means of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), the latter after 0, 72, 120 and 168 h of the study. Membrane integrity was evaluated at 0, 72, 120 and 168 h using the eosin-nigrosin staining procedure. Sperm heat resistance was tested after 120 h, and sperm morphology after 72, 120 and 168 h. Sperm concentrations differed, with T3 showing 27.04% and 29.65% higher concentrations (P < 0.05) than groups T2 and T1, respectively. Total motility in group T4 was 0.56%, 1.98% and 3.28% higher (P < 0.05) than in T3, T2 and T1, respectively, indicating that the 7-day interval produced the best result. The heat resistance test showed the expected results, i.e., T2 and T4 did not differ in terms of total motility, but that of T4 was 4.96% higher (P < 0.05) than T3 and 7.71% higher than T1. As for plasma membrane integrity, T4 had 6.45%, 8.09% and 12.72% more cells with intact membranes (P < 0.05) than T3, T2 and T1, respectively. With regard to TBARS, group T1 showed higher concentrations (P < 0.05) than T2 (6.18%), T3 (11.13%) and T4 (9.12%), i.e., the sperm cells in the animals of T1 showed greater changes. As for sperm morphology, the number of intact cells in T4 was 6.08%, 7.53% and 12.44% higher (P < 0.05) than in T3, T2 and T1, respectively. Discussion: With respect to total motility, other authors have reported similar results, i.e., the motility of sperm was highest when collected at 7-day intervals and lower when collected at shorter intervals. Despite the statistical differences between treatments, these results were found to be similar to those recommended in the literature for use in the preparation of insemination doses. Thus, we suggest that all the intervals between collections can be used in the routine of semen production centers, since...