Aflatoxin M1 is a toxic metabolic from aflatoxin B1, which is excreted in milk after the cows receive contaminated feed. The dairy cows in a farm in Itú city, São Paulo state, Brazil, were fed with cottonseed meal naturally contaminated with aflatoxin. The aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 were identifiedby TLC and quantified by fotodensitometry and the results were 43.5; 15.2; 9.1 and 8.6ng.g-1 respectively. The milk from these cows was also analyzed by higth performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and 0.64ng.mL-1 aflatoxin M1 was quantified. The aflatoxins concentration were higher than the brazilian low permit, and this should be a damage to public health.
aflatoxin; milk; cottonseed meal; contamination; dairy cow
