Ammonia knocks aflatoxin from corn
COLUMBIA, Mo. Scientists have found that ammonia
not only knocks the toxin from moldy, cancer-causing
com (thus making it perfectly safe for animal feed), but
the treated com makes better feed than it ever has before.
“We found that ammonia is an effective detoxifying
agent for aflatoxin-contaminated com, a moldy com that
can be carcinogenic,” reported Merle E. Muhrer,
University of Missouri biochemist.
The USDA regional laboratory at Peoria, HI., recently
ammoniated aflatoxin-contaminated com. Then Muhrer
and colleague Gary L. Johanning tested the corn’s
nutritional value at UMC by feeding it to rumen
microorganisms and guinea pigs. Scientists at Clemson
University in South Carolina are now going to test the
ammoniated com on cows.
“We had outstanding success in our feeding ex
periments and are enthusiastic about this corn treat
ment,” said Muhrer. “The ammoniation will make
valuable use of feed now considered a total loss by-far
mers.”
Muhrer and Johanning first got the idea for the am
monia treatment when they found that dialdehyde starch
(DAS) was an “ammonia super slurper.” As such, the
DAS would allow farmers to feed the cows more urea, a
relatively inexpensive non-protein nitrogen source.
“Man can’t use these non-protein nitrogen foods for his
own nutrition,” said Muhrer, “but man can use some of
the more expensive protein sources like soybean meal
which is often* fed to livestock. It’s better to feed non
protein products like urea to animals and save the good
quality protein for man.”
Until the UMC scientists made their discovery about
DAS, urea could be toxic to animals, because of the high
level of ammonia it released inside the animaL DAS
reacts with ammonia, literally slurping it up to detoxify it.
“Aflatoxin’s structure is similar to DAS,” said Muhrer.
“So by adding ammonia to the com, the ammonia would
react with the active parts of the aflatoxin and detoxify
it.”
Muhrer said scientists in the USDA’s Science and
Education Administration’s regional laboratory in Peoria
proved that the theory would work. Agricultural
engineers E.B. Bagley and O.L. Brekke designed a
system to trickle ammonia into a bin where com is stored.
“We knew that the treated com was no longer toxic, but
we didn’t know if it was any good as feed,” said Muhrer.
“However, research with microorganisms showed that
the ammonia would improve good com by increasing the
nitrogen and crude protein within it.
“As a result, farmers wouldn’t have to add as much
expensive, good quality protein to animal rations and thus
save more protein for human nutrition.
“Also, the ammoniated com is even better than un
treated com for cattle and sheep because it is more
digestible.”
Muhrer said tests on treated com will be conducted,
but he believes the ammonia treatment will be an inex
pensive way to boost energy in dairy, beef and sheep
rations.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 24,1979—17
Ammonia not only knocks aflatoxin from corn, it
increases the crop’s feed value, researchers claim.