Research Publications (Food Safety)

In Serbia, aspergillus ear rot caused by the disease pathogen Aspergillus parasiticus (A. parasiticus) was first detected in 2012 under both field and storage conditions. Global climate shifts, primarily warming, favour the contamination of maize with aflatoxins in temperate climates, including Serbia. A five-year study (2012–2016) comprising of 46 A.

This study was performed to assess the effects of dietary aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on the growth, antioxidant and immune response, digestive enzyme activities, and intestinal morphology of Lateolabrax maculatus during a 56-day feeding trial. Four diets were formulated including 0, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg of AFB1. Each diet was randomly assigned to 3 fish tanks with 40 fish per tank.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. Evaluation of the suitability of surfaces for sun drying is important to prevent the AFs contamination in any produce. Proper drying can reduce the post-harvest losses. The study was conducted to determine suitable surfaces for chili drying and the relationship between physical appearance of pods and AFs content to aid management decisions during drying and storage.

Aspergillus flavus is an opportunistic fungal pathogen capable of producing aflatoxins, potent carcinogenic toxins that accumulate in maize kernels after infection. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of maize resistance to A. flavus growth and aflatoxin accumulation, we performed a high-throughput transcriptomic study in situ using maize kernels infected with A. flavus strain 3357.

Among 200 fungal strains isolated from the soil, only one culture filtrate of Aspergillus flavus JCK-4087 showed strong nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita. The nematicidal metabolite isolated from the culture filtrate of JCK-4087 was identified as cyclopiazonic acid (CPA). Because JCK-4087 also produced aflatoxins, six strains of Penicillium commune, which have been reported to be CPA producers, were obtained from the bank and then tested for their CPA productivity.

Aspergillus flavus poses a threat to society economy and public health due to aflatoxin production. aflN is a gene located in the aflatoxin gene cluster, but the function of AflN is undefined in Aspergillus flavus. In this study, aflN is knocked out and overexpressed to study the function of AflN. The results indicated that the loss of AflN leads to the defect of aflatoxin biosynthesis. AflN is also found to play a role in conidiation but not hyphal growth and sclerotia development.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of solvent medium such as ethanol (EtOH), 50% (v/v) propylene glycol (PG), 20% (v/v) tween 20 (TW-20), and 20% (v/v) tween 80 (TW-80), on curcumin-mediated photosensitization to inactivate Aspergillus flavus spores in vitro and on the surface of yellow and white maize kernels and flour. Results showed suppression of curcumin phototoxic activity in TW-20 and TW-80.

Author(s): Bozidar Udovicki, Slavica Stankovic, Nikola Tomic, Ilija Djekic, Nada Smigic, Bojana Spirovic Trifunovic, Dragan Milicevic, Andreja Rajkovic

Author(s): Kiomars Sharafi, Behzad Karami Matin, Abdullah Khalid Omer, Borhan Mansouri, Hamed Soleimani, Nazir Fattahi, Houshmand Sharafi, Amir Kiani

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a common toxic mycotoxin and is detectable in pregnant women. Animal studies have revealed that AFB1 caused the lysis of erythrocytes and a decrease in hemoglobin. We conducted a prospective cohort study in Guangxi, China, in order to evaluate the association between AFB1 exposure and anemia in pregnant women during the entire pregnancy. A total of 616 pregnant women from the Guangxi Zhuang Birth Cohort were included in the study.

Journal of Food Science, EarlyView. Detoxification of aflatoxin M1 from solution and milk using layered double hydroxides was investigated. The Aluminum-Magnesium layered double hydroxide (Al-Mg LDH) and Iron-Magnesium layered double hydroxide (Fe-Mg LDH) were selected in their calcined and non-calcined forms to evaluate the effect of the calcination on detoxification. These materials were produced using the co-precipitation method.

ABSTRACT The issue of food contamination by fungi and aflatoxins; constitutes a serious concern not only for human/animal health but also for agriculture and the economy. Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by certain filamentous fungi and contaminate a variety of foodstuffs. In this context, control of fungal growth and aflatoxin contamination appears to be important.

The aim of this study was to identify and compare surface mycobiota of traditional and industrial Croatian dry-fermented sausage Kulen, especially toxicogenic species, and to detect contamination with mycotoxins recognized as the most important for meat products.

Aflatoxin is a carcinogenic mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus. Non-aflatoxigenic (Non-tox) A. flavus isolates are deployed in corn fields as biocontrol because they substantially reduce aflatoxin contamination via direct replacement and additionally via direct contact or touch with toxigenic (Tox) isolates and secretion of inhibitory/degradative chemicals.

Aspergillus flavus is saprophytic soil fungus that contaminates seed crops with the carcinogenic secondary metabolite aflatoxin, posing a significant threat to humans and animals. Ferrous sulfate is a common iron supplement that is used to the treatment of iron-deficiency anemia. Here, we identified an unexpected inhibitory role of ferrous sulfate on A. flavus.

Author(s): Hacer Sibel Karapınar, Ali Bilgiç

ABSTRACT Essential oils can be a useful alternative to the use of synthetic fungicides because they have biological potential and are relatively safe for food and agricultural products. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the antifungal and antimycotoxigenic activities of the essential oils from Satureja montana L., Myristica fragrans H. and Cymbopogon flexuosus S.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. Fluid bed drying with temperatures of 70-130 °C, together with a coating system based on a zinc oxide nanoparticle (n-ZnO) solution, were investigated for control of fungal growth in paddy before storage. A mathematical model to find suitable conditions for this process was developed.

Author(s): Alessandra M. Gasperini, Angel Medina, Naresh Magan

Edible vegetable oils are essential components of our daily diet that are widely consumed in great amounts worldwide. The present study evaluated the concentration of aflatoxins (AFTs) in highly consumed vegetable oils (including peanut, olive, corn, soya bean, linseed, sesame, palm, canola, sunflower, and coconut) through a systematic review and meta-analytic approach.

Adsorption of the carcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) onto agro-waste-based materials is a promising alternative over conventional inorganic binders. In the current study, two unmodified adsorbents were eco-friendly prepared from kale and lettuce agro-wastes. A dynamic gastrointestinal tract-simulated model was utilized to evaluate the removal efficiency of the sorptive materials (0.5%, w/w) when added to an AFB1-contaminated diet (100 µg AFB1/kg).

Author(s): Seyedeh Fatemeh Ahmadi, Mohammad Hojjatoleslamy, Hossein Kiani, Hooman Molavi

by Wadha Al Attiya, Zahoor Ul Hassan, Roda Al-Thani, Samir Jaoua

Author(s): Chengxi Zhu, Dong Liu, Yuye Li, Ting Chen, Tianyan You

Mycotoxins are toxic substances naturally produced by various fungi, and these compounds not only inflict economic damage, but also pose risks to human and animal health.