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Clinical Microbiology Reviews Jul 2003Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by microfungi that are capable of causing disease and death in humans and other animals. Because of their pharmacological... (Review)
Review
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by microfungi that are capable of causing disease and death in humans and other animals. Because of their pharmacological activity, some mycotoxins or mycotoxin derivatives have found use as antibiotics, growth promotants, and other kinds of drugs; still others have been implicated as chemical warfare agents. This review focuses on the most important ones associated with human and veterinary diseases, including aflatoxin, citrinin, ergot akaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, patulin, trichothecenes, and zearalenone.
Topics: Aflatoxins; Air Pollution, Indoor; Animals; Bioterrorism; Citrinin; Ergot Alkaloids; Food Microbiology; Fumonisins; Humans; Mycotoxins; Trichothecenes; Zearalenone
PubMed: 12857779
DOI: 10.1128/CMR.16.3.497-516.2003 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jun 2017Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain filamentous fungi (molds). These low molecular weight compounds (usually less than 1000 Daltons) are... (Review)
Review
Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain filamentous fungi (molds). These low molecular weight compounds (usually less than 1000 Daltons) are naturally occurring and practically unavoidable. They can enter our food chain either directly from plant-based food components contaminated with mycotoxins or by indirect contamination from the growth of toxigenic fungi on food. Mycotoxins can accumulate in maturing corn, cereals, soybeans, sorghum, peanuts, and other food and feed crops in the field and in grain during transportation. Consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated food or feed can cause acute or chronic toxicity in human and animals. In addition to concerns over adverse effects from direct consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated foods and feeds, there is also public health concern over the potential ingestion of animal-derived food products, such as meat, milk, or eggs, containing residues or metabolites of mycotoxins. Members of three fungal genera, , , and , are the major mycotoxin producers. While over 300 mycotoxins have been identified, six (aflatoxins, trichothecenes, zearalenone, fumonisins, ochratoxins, and patulin) are regularly found in food, posing unpredictable and ongoing food safety problems worldwide. This review summarizes the toxicity of the six mycotoxins, foods commonly contaminated by one or more of them, and the current methods for detection and analysis of these mycotoxins.
Topics: Aspergillus; Food Microbiology; Fusarium; Mycotoxins; Penicillium
PubMed: 28608841
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14060632 -
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience Oct 2023Gene-environment interaction is an emerging hypothesis to explain the increased incidence of neurological disorders. In this context, the health and clinical effects of... (Review)
Review
Gene-environment interaction is an emerging hypothesis to explain the increased incidence of neurological disorders. In this context, the health and clinical effects of exposure to air pollutants have received increasing attention. One of these pollutants is the growth of fungi and molds in the form of multicellular filaments, known as hyphae. Fungi and molds not only grow in outdoor environments, but they also thrive indoors with excessive moisture, producing mycotoxins. Mold enters the body through the nose via the olfactory neurons, which directly communicate with the brain. Mycotoxins induce toxicological effects similar to those associated with brain disorders such as oxidative stress and inflammation. One mold species can produce several different mycotoxins, and one mycotoxin can be produced by several different molds. Even a small amount of mold growth in the air conditioners and their ducts or the panels inside the buildings and even the cars cause the occupants to be chronically exposed to and constantly inhaling spores and mycotoxins, which causes illness. In this review, we focused on mold and mycotoxin exposure and brain disorders.
Topics: Mycotoxins; Air Pollution, Indoor; Fungi; Brain Diseases
PubMed: 38176924
DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2206137 -
Toxins Oct 2019Mycotoxins are known worldwide as fungus-produced toxins that adulterate a wide heterogeneity of raw feed ingredients and final products. Consumption of... (Review)
Review
Mycotoxins are known worldwide as fungus-produced toxins that adulterate a wide heterogeneity of raw feed ingredients and final products. Consumption of mycotoxins-contaminated feed causes a plethora of harmful responses from acute toxicity to many persistent health disorders with lethal outcomes; such as mycotoxicosis when ingested by animals. Therefore, the main task for feed producers is to minimize the concentration of mycotoxin by applying different strategies aimed at minimizing the risk of mycotoxin effects on animals and human health. Once mycotoxins enter the production chain it is hard to eliminate or inactivate them. This paper examines the most recent findings on different processes and strategies for the reduction of toxicity of mycotoxins in animals. The review gives detailed information about the decontamination approaches to mitigate mycotoxin contamination of feedstuffs and compound feed, which could be implemented in practice.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Decontamination; Food Contamination; Mycotoxins
PubMed: 31731462
DOI: 10.3390/toxins11110617 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jun 2022Humans continue to be constantly exposed to mycotoxins, mainly through oral exposure (dietary), inhalation, or dermal contact. Recently, it has been of increasing... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Humans continue to be constantly exposed to mycotoxins, mainly through oral exposure (dietary), inhalation, or dermal contact. Recently, it has been of increasing interest to investigate mycotoxin-linked carcinogenicity. This systematic review was conducted to synthesize evidence of the association between mycotoxin-linked mutations and the risk of cancer, to provide an overview of the data linking exposure to different mycotoxins with human cancer risk, and to provide an update on current research on the risk of cancer associated with human exposure to mycotoxins. PRISMA guidelines were used when conducting the systematic review. PubMed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL electronic databases were comprehensively searched to extract the relevant studies published from inception to May 2022. A total of sixteen relevant studies (4907 participants) were identified and included in this review. Of these, twelve studies were from Asia, while four of the studies were conducted in Africa. The overall meta-analysis result found no significant association, although some of the studies confirmed an association between mycotoxin-linked mutations and primary liver cancer risk. Mainly, the experimental studies have shown associations between mycotoxin-linked mutations and cancer risk, and there is a need for researchers to confirm these links in epidemiological studies in order to guide public health policies and interventions.
Topics: Africa; Diet; Food Contamination; Global Health; Humans; Mutation; Mycotoxins; Neoplasms
PubMed: 35805411
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19137754 -
Analytical Biochemistry May 2022Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by fungi, which represent a risk to the food and feed supply chain, having an impact on health and economies. A high percentage... (Review)
Review
Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by fungi, which represent a risk to the food and feed supply chain, having an impact on health and economies. A high percentage of feed samples have been reported to be contaminated with more than one type of mycotoxin. Systematic, cost-effective and simple tools for testing are critical to achieve a rapid and accurate screening of food and feed quality. In this review, we describe the various aptamers that have been selected against mycotoxins and their incorporation into optical and electrochemical aptasensors, outlining the strategies exploited, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The review also discusses the different materials used and the immobilization methods employed, with the aim of achieving the highest sensitivity and selectivity.
Topics: Food Contamination; Mycotoxins
PubMed: 33716125
DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2021.114156 -
Journal of Food and Drug Analysis Nov 2022The co-occurrence and accumulation of mycotoxin in food and feed constitutes a major issue to food safety, food security, and public health. Accurate and sensitive... (Review)
Review
The co-occurrence and accumulation of mycotoxin in food and feed constitutes a major issue to food safety, food security, and public health. Accurate and sensitive mycotoxins analysis can avoid toxin contamination as well as reduce food wastage caused by false positive results. This mini review focuses on the recent advance in detection methods for multiple mycotoxins, which mainly depends on immunoassay technologies. Advance immunoassay technologies integrated in mycotoxin analysis enable simultaneous detection of multiple mycotoxins and enhance the outcomes' quality. It highlights toxicogenomic as novel approach for hazard assessment by utilizing computational methods to map molecular events and biological processes. Indeed, toxicogenomic is a powerful tool to understand health effects from mycotoxin exposure as it offers insight on the mechanisms by which mycotoxins exposures cause diseases.
Topics: Mycotoxins; Toxicogenetics; Food Contamination; Immunoassay; Animal Feed
PubMed: 36753365
DOI: 10.38212/2224-6614.3430 -
Toxins Jun 2022Earth's climate is undergoing adverse global changes as an unequivocal result of anthropogenic activity. The occurring environmental changes are slowly shaping the... (Review)
Review
Earth's climate is undergoing adverse global changes as an unequivocal result of anthropogenic activity. The occurring environmental changes are slowly shaping the balance between plant growth and related fungal diseases. Climate (temperature, available water, and light quality/quantity; as well as extreme drought, desertification, and fluctuations of humid/dry cycles) represents the most important agroecosystem factor influencing the life cycle stages of fungi and their ability to colonize crops, survive, and produce toxins. The ability of mycotoxigenic fungi to respond to Climate Change (CC) may induce a shift in their geographical distribution and in the pattern of mycotoxin occurrence. The present review examines the available evidence on the impact of CC factors on growth and mycotoxin production by the key mycotoxigenic fungi belonging to the genera , , and , which include several species producing mycotoxins of the greatest concern worldwide: aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxins, and fumonisins (FUMs).
Topics: Aflatoxins; Climate Change; Food Contamination; Fumonisins; Fungi; Mycotoxins
PubMed: 35878185
DOI: 10.3390/toxins14070445 -
Toxins Jun 2023Nowadays, pseudo-cereals' consumption is increasing due to their health benefits as they possess an excellent nutrient profile. Whole pseudo-cereal grains are rich in a... (Review)
Review
Nowadays, pseudo-cereals' consumption is increasing due to their health benefits as they possess an excellent nutrient profile. Whole pseudo-cereal grains are rich in a wide range of compounds, namely flavonoids, phenolic acids, fatty acids, and vitamins with known beneficial effects on human and animal health. Mycotoxins are common contaminants in cereals and by-products; however, the study of their natural occurrence in pseudo-cereals is currently scarce. Pseudo-cereals are similar to cereal grains; thus, mycotoxin contamination is expected to occur in pseudo-cereals. Indeed, mycotoxin-producing fungi have been reported in these matrices and, consequently, mycotoxin contents have been reported too, especially in buckwheat samples, where ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol reached levels up to 1.79 μg/kg and 580 μg/kg, respectively. In comparison to cereal contamination, mycotoxin levels detected in pseudo-cereal samples are lower; however, more studies are necessary in order to describe the mycotoxin pattern in these samples and to establish maximum levels that ensure human and animal health protection. In this review, mycotoxin occurrence in pseudo-cereal samples as well as the main extraction methods and analytical techniques to determine them are described, showing that mycotoxins can be present in pseudo-cereal samples and that the most employed techniques for their determination are liquid and gas chromatography coupled to different detectors.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Mycotoxins; Edible Grain; Food Contamination; Fungi; Whole Grains
PubMed: 37368680
DOI: 10.3390/toxins15060379 -
Toxins Mar 2022Mycotoxins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced in the food chain by fungi through the infection of crops both before and after harvest. Mycotoxins are... (Review)
Review
Mycotoxins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced in the food chain by fungi through the infection of crops both before and after harvest. Mycotoxins are one of the most important food safety concerns due to their severe poisonous and carcinogenic effects on humans and animals upon ingestion. In the last decade, insects have received wide attention as a highly nutritious, efficient and sustainable source of animal-derived protein and caloric energy for feed and food purposes. Many insects have been used to convert food waste into animal feed. As food waste might contain mycotoxins, research has been conducted on the metabolism and detoxification of mycotoxins by edible insects. The mycotoxins that have been studied include aflatoxins, fumonisins, zearalenone (ZEN), vomitoxin or deoxynivalenol (DON), and ochratoxins (OTAs). Aflatoxin metabolism is proved through the production of hydroxylated metabolites by NADPH-dependent reductases and hydroxylases by different insects. ZEN can be metabolized into α- and β-zearalenol. Three DON metabolites, 3-, 15-acetyl-DON, and DON-3-glucoside, have been identified in the insect DON metabolites. Unfortunately, the resulting metabolites, involved enzymes, and detoxification mechanisms of OTAs and fumonisins within insects have yet to be identified. Previous studies have been focused on the insect tolerance to mycotoxins and the produced metabolites; further research needs to be conducted to understand the exact enzymes and pathways that are involved.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Edible Insects; Food Contamination; Fumonisins; Mycotoxins; Ochratoxins; Refuse Disposal; Zearalenone
PubMed: 35324714
DOI: 10.3390/toxins14030217