What Are Mycotoxins and How Mycotoxins Harm Animals

Mycotoxins are poisonous compounds produced by certain molds that commonly grow on grains, forages, and by‑products used in animal feeds. Even when feed looks and smells fine, these invisible toxins can still be present because most are heat‑stable and survive normal processing and storage.

The most important mycotoxins in animal production include aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON or vomitoxin), fumonisins, zearalenone, T‑2/HT‑2 toxins, and ochratoxin A. These toxins can appear alone but more often co‑occur, meaning animals are usually dealing with a cocktail of mycotoxins rather than a single challenge.

 

How Mycotoxins Harm Animals

Mycotoxins primarily attack three key systems: the gut, the immune system, and major organs such as the liver and kidneys. Because those systems are shared across species, cattle, calves, poultry, pigs, small ruminants, and even horses can show similar patterns of reduced health and performance. Common subclinical effects across species include:

• - Reduced feed intake and gain: DON and related trichothecenes are well known to reduce appetite, leading to poorer feed efficiency and slower growth.
• - Leaky, inflamed gut: Multiple mycotoxins damage intestinal cells and tight junctions, causing “leaky gut,” inflammation, and lower nutrient absorption.

• - Immune suppression: Mycotoxins such as fumonisins, DON, T‑2, and ochratoxin interfere with immune cell function and antibody production, making animals more susceptible to bacterial, viral, and parasitic disease.

• - Reproductive and metabolic issues: Zearalenone disrupts hormones and fertility, while aflatoxins and ochratoxin damage the liver and kidneys and can reduce milk yield or egg production.

Research shows that combinations of mycotoxins often have additive or synergistic effects, creating more oxidative stress, immune suppression, and organ damage than any toxin alone. This is why low‑level “background” contamination can still be a serious problem, even when no obvious mycotoxicosis is seen.

 

Why Mycotoxins Are a Hidden, Year‑Round Risk

Grains can be contaminated in the field, during harvest, or in storage, while silages and TMRs can develop mold and wild yeast growth if fermentation or feed‑out is not well managed. Climate variability, drought followed by rain, and damaged kernels all increase mold and mycotoxin risk.

Because different molds produce different toxins, and many feeds are blended, animals rarely face a single mycotoxin exposure. Routine testing helps, but practical limits on sampling and laboratory costs mean that not every load or bunker face can be fully characterized, so a baseline mycotoxin mitigation strategy in the ration is now considered best practice in many operations.

 

Strategies to Manage Mycotoxins

Effective mycotoxin management combines prevention, monitoring, and in‑feed tools. Key components include:

• - Good agronomy and storage: Managing plant stress, harvest timing, moisture, compaction, and oxygen exclusion in silage reduces mold growth and toxin formation.
• - Regular testing: Targeted testing of high‑risk ingredients (e.g., corn, small grains, by‑products, high‑moisture corn, silage) helps identify hotspots and informs ration decisions.
• - Mycotoxin binders and modifiers: Clays (like bentonite), activated carbon, yeast cell walls, and certain biological components can adsorb or transform a range of mycotoxins in the gut, limiting absorption.
• - Gut and immune support: Because mycotoxins weaken gut integrity and immunity, probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, phytogenics, and immune modulators help animals maintain resilience under chronic exposure.

Research in poultry and other species shows that combinations of bentonite clay plus yeast cell wall fractions improve performance and health in the face of multiple mycotoxins compared with unprotected controls. This supports the concept that multi‑component products can offer broader protection than single‑mode binders.

 

Where Intercept FEND Fits In

Intercept FEND is built around this multi‑component philosophy: instead of relying on a single “arrow,” it uses several technologies together to help animals cope with biotoxins, including mycotoxins, endotoxins, and other stressors. Key elements of Intercept FEND include:

• - Bentonite clay: Provides mycotoxin adsorption in the gastrointestinal tract, helping reduce absorption of key toxins such as aflatoxins and contributes to more consistent manure.
• - Yeast technologies: Yeast cell walls, live yeast, and yeast culture contribute mannans and beta‑glucans that can bind certain mycotoxins and support a more stable, resilient gut microbiome.
• - Bacillus strains (probiotics): Spore‑forming Bacillus survive pelleting and rumen passage and help balance intestinal bacteria, supporting digestion and competitive exclusion of pathogens in the lower gut.
• - Pre‑, pro‑ and postbiotics: These components provide substrates and beneficial metabolites that can improve gut barrier function, feed efficiency, and immune signaling under toxin pressure.
• - Phytogenics and Yucca schidigera: Plant extracts and saponins help modulate inflammation, support liver function, and improve rumen and hindgut environment, which is often compromised by mycotoxins.
• - Immune modulators and enzymes: Targeted immune support and digestive enzymes help animals maintain performance when mycotoxins reduce nutrient absorption and suppress normal immune responses.

An in‑vitro mycotoxin product analysis at a pH of 6.5 compared Intercept FEND to other commercial products across multiple toxins (ZEA, DON, fumonisins, T‑2, aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, etc.). The results showed Intercept FEND had strong multi‑toxin binding capacity. While binding trials are not a direct substitute for in‑vivo performance data, they demonstrate that FEND is formulated to address the real‑world situation of mixed mycotoxin challenges rather than a single target.

Because Intercept FEND also addresses endotoxins, forever chemicals, and supports the microbiome and immune system, it is positioned as a broader “biotoxin” and gut‑health solution, not just a simple binder. This makes it suitable for dairy, beef, calves, poultry, swine, and other species that share the same fundamental vulnerabilities in the gut–immune axis when exposed to mycotoxins.

 

Email service@mirobasics.com for more information on Intercept FEND.

 

Sources

- Intercept FEND Dairy Brochure, MicroBasics. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0774/1587/4878/files/Intercept_FEND-_Dairy_Brochure_f37c2f13-664f-46eb-8a74-b09e524a3e9c.pdf?v=1735660086

- Penn State Extension. “What are Mycotoxins?” 2023. https://extension.psu.edu/what-are-mycotoxins/

- Penn State Extension. “From Aflatoxin to Zearalenone: Mycotoxins You Should Know – Deoxynivalenol (DON).” 2024. https://extension.psu.edu/from-aflatoxin-to-zearalenone-mycotoxins-you-should-know-deoxynivalenol-don/

- Charm Sciences. “Mycotoxins in Animal Feed.” 2025. https://www.charm.com/mycotoxins-in-animal-feed/

- Crop Protection Network. “Corn Mycotoxin FAQs.” 2025. https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/publications/mycotoxin-faqs

- Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. “Mycotoxin: Its Impact on Gut Health and Microbiota.” 2018. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2018.00060/full

- Pig Progress. “Impact of mycotoxins on gut health.” 2021. https://www.pigprogress.net/specials/impact-of-mycotoxins-on-gut-health/

- Innovad. “Unraveling the impact of mycotoxins on gut health.” https://innovad-global.com/unraveling-impact-mycotoxins-gut-health-implications-animal-performance

- RealTime Laboratories. “How Mycotoxins Affect the Gut.” 2023. https://realtimelab.com/how-mycotoxins-affect-the-gut/

- Engormix. “Bentonite Plus Yeast Cell Wall Fraction Improves the Performance…” 2024. https://en.engormix.com/mycotoxins/mycotoxins-adsorbents-binders-tests/bentonite-plus-yeast-cell_a53723/

- Nature Scientific Reports. “Optimization of modified bentonite mycotoxin binders for enhanced …” 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-13249-z

- Silveus Insurance Group. “What is Vomitoxin?” 2025. https://silveuscropins.com/what-is-vomitoxin/