Two university research teams have been granted support for innovation by OSEO to develop a tool to assess “mycotoxin” risk in fodder. Horse breeders are showing a keen in interest in the project, which has been approved by the horse industry cluster.

On the one hand, Caen University’s ERPCB - Equipe de Recherche en Physico-Chimie et Biotechnologies (Physicochemistry and Biotechnology Research Team) uses infrared spectroscopy in the field of microbiology to identify microorganisms. On the other hand, the GRECAN - Groupe Régional d’Etudes sur le Cancer (Regional Cancer Research Group), located within the François Baclesse Cancer Centre, studies the toxins produced by mould and their impact on health. The two laboratories have joined forces to perfect a tool to analyse fodder for use in horse feeding. They have been granted support from OSEO to help finance their study, together with an 18-month research engineer position (currently occupied by Anne El Kaddoumi). The mission is due to conclude in March 2009 and both horse breeders and fodder producers are eagerly awaiting the study results.
“The presence of mycotoxins in fodder can result not only in reducing the animal’s performance, but also in potentially lethal diseases,” explains David Garon, a GRECAN researcher. Traditional detection methods (molecular and chromatographic techniques) offer limited possibilities and are both time-consuming and costly. Both laboratories therefore plan to use Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) which provides global metabolic fingerprinting of the strain or the contaminated fodder. The first stage involving the characterisation of fungic strains is now complete. The team is currently developing a protocol for the global analysis of fodder in an attempt to distinguish healthy from contaminated fodder, the long-term aim being to create a fast, reliable and inexpensive analysis tool.

David Garon / GRECAN
Tél. : 02 31 45 52 21

Caroline Amiel / ERPCB
Tél. : 02 31 56 71 04

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