Short Communications
Vol 4, No 2 (2015)
https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2015.5174

Gossypol content of cotton free commercial feed for dairy cows

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Received: 24 March 2015
Accepted: 4 April 2015
Published: 3 June 2015
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Gossypol, Feed, Dairy cows

Authors

Barbara Ricci
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Giorgia Canestrari
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Valentina Pizzamiglio
Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium, Reggio Emilia (RE), Italy.
Alberto Biancardi
Veterinary Public Health Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy.
Giuseppe Merialdi
Veterinary Public Health Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, Bologna, Italy.
Federica Giacometti
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Marco Nocetti
Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium, Reggio Emilia (RE), Italy.
Mattia Fustini
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Andrea Serraino
andrea.serraino@unibo.it
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Andrea Formigoni
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Gossypol is a yellow pigment occurring in all parts of cotton plants, with the highest levels found in seeds, and it exhibits a variety of toxic effects. Few data are available on the content of gossypol in the commercial complementary feed and in feed raw materials. The present study was focused on the investigation of the presence of free gossypol in commercial complementary feed not containing cotton. A total of 50 samples of commercial complementary feed for dairy cows were performed in 29 feed mills both using and not using cotton as feed material. The free gossypol contamination resulted under the detection limit of the technique (4 mg/kg) in 12 out of 50 samples analysed and ranged from 4 to 20 mg/kg in 28 samples. In 10 samples the level of free gossypol ranged from 20 to 29.5 mg/kg. Average contamination of samples was 12.2±9.2 SD mg/kg. No significant difference (P=0.571) was shown in free gossypol concentration between feed produced in cotton free plants and in plants where cotton is used as feed material. Free gossypol content detected in the present study allows considering complementary feed for dairy cows not at risk. On the other hand, the detection of free gossypol in cotton free complementary feed, probably attributable to cross contamination of feed materials upstream of the feed mill, should be further investigated.

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1.
Gossypol content of cotton free commercial feed for dairy cows. Ital J Food Safety [Internet]. 2015 Jun. 3 [cited 2026 Mar. 10];4(2). Available from: https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/ijfs.2015.5174

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