Co-exposure to Deoxynivalenol and T-2, HT-2.toxin through Cottonseed Cake: A Screening-level Risk Assessment for Livestock in Mali
Mamadou Kanadjigui
Centre de Recherche et de Formation Pour l’Industrie Textile (CERFITEX), Ségou, Mali.
Hamssatou Aliou Maïga
Agence Nationale de la Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (ANSSA), Institut National de la Santé Publique (INSP), Bamako, Mali.
Awa Soronfé Doumbia
Centre de Recherche et de Formation Pour l’Industrie Textile (CERFITEX), Ségou, Mali.
Zoumana Traore
Centre de Recherche et de Formation Pour l’Industrie Textile (CERFITEX), Ségou, Mali.
Kangaye Amadou Diallo
LaboREM-Biotech, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, BP E 3206, Bamako, Mali and African Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali.
Amadou Hamadoun Babana *
LaboREM-Biotech, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, BP E 3206, Bamako, Mali.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: To assess co-exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON) and T-2 toxin through cottonseed cake in Malian sheep and cattle, characterise potential health risks, and evaluate sensitivity to unmeasured HT-2.
Study Design: Cross-sectional contamination study with deterministic and probabilistic screening-level risk assessment.
Place and Duration of Study: Mali’s post-harvest cotton value chain; the sampling period was not specified.
Methodology: The database included 243 determinations from triplicate analyses of 81 independent samples. Replicates were averaged, and 33 cottonseed-cake samples informed the primary assessment. Exposure scenarios comprised four observed sheep rations and cattle cake intakes of 1, 2 and 4 kg/day. Risk quotients (RQ) were calculated against species-specific reference values. Monte Carlo simulations used 100,000 iterations per scenario, preserving paired toxin concentrations. T-2-only quotients provided lower-bound estimates against combined T-2 + HT-2 reference points. Sensitivity analysis assumed HT-2 equalled T-2.
Results: Mean DON and T-2 concentrations were 274.98 and 136.36 µg/kg, respectively (Spearman’s ρ = 0.912). Sheep deterministic T-2 RQ values ranged from 5.14 to 15.12; the simulated mean was 9.393 (2.5th–97.5th percentiles: 5.278–13.901), with 100% exceeding 1. Mean cattle T-2 RQ values were 0.146, 0.293 and 0.586 at 1, 2 and 4 kg/day, respectively, without simulated exceedances. Under the illustrative HT-2 = T-2 assumption, exceedance probability reached 66.5% at 4 kg/day. DON RQ values remained below 1 throughout.
Conclusion: T-2 exposure indicated potential concern in sheep. Cattle estimates remained below the reference point for measured T-2 alone, but high-intake estimates were sensitive to unmeasured HT-2. Joint T-2 and HT-2 quantification in complete rations is needed before definitive safety conclusions.
Keywords: Cottonseed cake, deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, co-exposure, livestock feed, risk assessment, Mali