Incidence of the Most Common Toxigenic Aspergillus Species in Broiler Feeds in Kermanshah Province, West of Iran

摘要

The objectives of this study were to investigate the occurrence and identification ofAspergillus species in broiler feeds in Kermanshah province, west of Iran. From April 2008 to March 2009, atotal of 50 samples of broiler feeds were collected from different broiler farms located in Kermanshahprovince. All samples were aseptically transported to the laboratory, homogenized, quartered to obtain a 1 kglaboratory sample and were stored at 4°C for fungal analyses. Ten grams of each feed sample were homogenizedin 90 ml sterile physiological saline for 30 minutes to obtain a concentration of 10 1 (dilution 1). This mixturewas then serially diluted to 10 2 (dilution 2), 10 3 (dilution 3) and 10 4 (dilution 4). From each dilution, 25 μL ofmixture was deeply inoculated on dichloran rose-bengal-chloranphenicol agar (DRBC) and incubated at 30°Cfor 15 days. During incubation period, gross and microscopic features of fungal colonies were studied. Out of50 feed samples, 46 samples (92%) in dilution 1, 38 samples (76%) in dilution 2, 28 samples (56%) in dilution3 and 20 samples (40%) in dilution 4, were contaminated to Aspergillus species. The most prevalent species wasAspergillus flavus followed by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus. These results showed that apotential exists for the production of mycotoxins by the Aspergillus species. They suggest an association ofmycotoxicosis with poultry feeds in western parts of Iran.