The European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) has published a positive Scientific Opinion on the safety and
efficacy of FUMzyme®—the first purified enzyme to biotransform fumonisins into
non-toxic metabolites—thereby marking a momentous development for mycotoxin
risk management.
BIOMIN has received the first-ever EFSA positive opinion
for a purified enzyme capable of biotransforming fumonisins.
In their Scientific Opinion, EFSA concluded that FUMzyme®
is safe not only for animals, humans and the environment, but also demonstrably
efficacious in pigs. FUMzyme® was originally isolated from
the fumonisin degrading soil bacteria Sphingopyxis sp. MTA 144 and
identified as fumonisin esterase by the BIOMIN Research Center.
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| pigs_crop (Photo credit: johnmuk) |
EFSA acknowledged the product's efficacy in degrading
fumonisins to compounds of significantly lower toxicity in the gastrointestinal
tract of animals. The sphinganine/sphingosine ratio, considered the most
sensitive endpoint for fumonisin toxicosis, was included as an important
parameter in several short- and long-term
feeding studies conducted with pigs.
The trials consistently demonstrated that the addition of
FUMzyme® significantly reduced the sphinganine/sphingosine
ratio of pigs fed fumonisin-contaminated diets with levels above and below EU
guidance limits. Sphinganine/sphingosine values generally returned to levels
seen in animals fed corresponding diets free from fumonisins.
On this basis, EFSA concluded that FUMzyme®
has the capacity to biotransform fumonisins from contaminated pig feed at a
minimum dose of 15 U/kg feed.
Until now, the binding of fumonisins to adsorptive
substances was the only solution available to counter fumonisin intoxication.
Due to the molecular structure of these mycotoxins and pH dependence of the
reaction, fumonisins are only insufficiently adsorbed by mycotoxin-binding
products in the gastrointestinal tract.
According to the latest BIOMIN Mycotoxin Survey 2013 in
which more than 4,200 samples worldwide were analyzed, fumonisins were found in
55% of all feed samples with an average contamination of over 1,400 ppb.
Climate change and the international trade in raw
materials are two of several factors that increase fumonisin contamination of
feed all over the world. By-products, used increasingly as feed ingredients,
pose further challenges with recent findings showing 26,800 ppb of naturally
occurring fumonisins in a US DDGS sample. Pig farmers not only suffer from
unidentified losses in performance and immunosuppressive effects, but also
species-specific clinical problems.
In 2013, BIOMIN became the first company to receive the
European Commission authorization for feed additives with
mycotoxin-counteracting properties. The authorizations were for the
deoxynivalenol-biotransforming product Biomin® BBSH 797 and the
aflatoxin-binding bentonite Mycofix® Secure.
FUMzyme®, the result of years of
intensive research at the BIOMIN Research Center in Austria, exemplifies the
innovation lead of BIOMIN in developing revolutionary strategies to counteract
mycotoxins. FUMzyme® was most recently awarded the
Houskapreis 2014, Austria’s largest prize for research projects with proven
market applications, and in the same week, the FIAAP Animal Nutrition Award
2014 at Victam Asia, a year after its successful launch in Asia.
For more information please visit: http://fumzyme.biomin.net
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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