Research Publications (Food Safety)

Peanuts in China are heavily contaminated with aflatoxin, which pose a threaten to human health. To compare the dietary exposure risk of aflatoxins (AFT) in peanuts and peanut oil in different areas of China, the spatial distribution of AFT contamination levels in peanuts and peanut oil from different areas was analyzed.

Author(s): Somenath Das, Vipin Kumar Singh, Abhishek Kumar Dwivedy, Anand Kumar Chaudhari, Deepika, Nawal Kishore Dubey

The current research was performed to assess the fungal contamination in oils extracted from wild almonds (Alok) during 60 days of storage. To assess the influence of storage temperature on fungal growth and aflatoxins production, three batches of wild almond nuts were kept at 25, 30, and 35 °C for 60 days, and extracted oils from nuts were evaluated at six periods of intervals.

Author(s): Helina Marshall, Julie P. Meneely, Brian Quinn, Yueju Zhao, Paula Bourke, Brendan F. Gilmore, Guangtao Zhang, Christopher T. Elliott

Author(s): Yan Guo, Balamuralikrishnan Balasubramanian, Zhi-Hui Zhao, Wen-Chao Liu

Author(s): Pouyan Malekinezhad, Laura E. Ellestad, Nazar Afzali, Seyed Homayoun Farhangfar, Arash Omidi, Abbas Mohammadi

Author(s): Yun Li, JiaSheng Wang, JinJuan Li, XiuLan Sun

Author(s): Pu Cui, Hangbin Yan, Daniel Granato, Chi-Tang Ho, Ziling Ye, Yong Wang, Liang Zhang, Yu Zhou

Author(s): Shumin Sun, Ran Zhao, Yanli Xie, Yong Liu

Author(s): Sotirios - Spyridon Vamvakas, Mersini Chroni, Fotios Genneos, Stavroula Gizeli (Source: Food Bioscience) The effect of methanolic and aqueous extracts of bilberry leaves on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and on its ability to synthesize aflatoxins was studied. Both extracts could inhibit aflatoxins’ biosynthesis by A. flavus grown in either a rich or minimal media.

Aflatoxin production by isolates of Aspergillus flavus varies, ranging from highly toxigenic to completely atoxigenic. Several mechanisms have been identified which regulate aflatoxin production including medium carbon source and oxidative stress. In recent studies, aflatoxin production has been implicated in partially ameliorating oxidative stress in A. flavus.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary metabolites produced by plant fungal pathogens infecting crops with strong carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Dimethylformamide (DMF) is an excellent solvent widely used in biology, medicine and other fields. However, the effect and mechanism of DMF as a common organic solvent against fungal growth and AFs production are not clear. Here, we discovered that DMF had obvious inhibitory effect against A.

This study was aimed to determine the effects of a plasma jet of mixed argon and oxygen (Ar‐O2) on Aspergillus flavus growth in potato dextrose broth (PDA). Settings for power, discharge duration, and gas flow rate of the plasma jet system (PJS) were optimized over ranges of 10–20 W, 1–10 min and 3–9 L/min, respectively. The optimal conditions required to inhibit 100% of A. flavus growth at 30°C for 48 h were 20 W, 10 min, and 9 L/min, respectively. The PJS inhibited 100% of the A.

Filamentous fungi represent a rich source of extrolites, including secondary metabolites (SMs) comprising a great variety of astonishing structures and interesting bioactivities. State‐of‐the‐art techniques in genome mining, genetic manipulation, and secondary metabolomics have enabled the scientific community to better elucidate and more deeply appreciate the genetic and biosynthetic chemical arsenal of these microorganisms.

In this paper, using molybdenum disulfide doped with gold nanoclusters (Au NCs@MoS2) as the substrate, an aflatoxin aptamer sensor was constructed utilizing iron porphyrin organic porous material modified with streptavidin and loaded with gold nano-bipyramids (SA-Au NBPs@ porous aromatic framework (PAF)-40-Fe) as a label. The catalyzed reduction current of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by Au NBPs@PAF-40-Fe was detected which is proportional to the concentration of aflatoxin B1.

The use of plant extracts in pre- and post-harvest disease management of agricultural crops to cope with aflatoxin B1 contamination has shown great promise due to their capability in managing toxins and safe-keeping the quality.

Author(s): Faezeh Rahimi, Hamideh Roshanfekr, Hossein Peyman

The goal of this study was to investigate the toxicokinetic characteristics of aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) in broiler chickens and the effect of calcination of a Tunisian montmorillonite clay on the in vivo absorption of AFG1. In this study, broiler chickens were randomly distributed into four groups of 10 animals.

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most used insecticides in agro-ecosystems and is repeatedly applied due to the increase in pest resistance, which leads to environmental accumulation.

As fish has been known for its high protein content and other health benefits, aquaculture production has started to flourish in Serbia. Common carp is the predominant species being farmed, comprising more than 80% of the total fish production in Serbia. The primary ingredients in fish feed are plant-based products, which present a risk of mycotoxin contamination, posing a potential risk to consumers.

Aflatoxins (AF) are hepatocarcinogenic metabolites produced by several Aspergillus species. Crop infection by these species results in aflatoxin contamination of cereals, nuts, and spices. Etiology of aflatoxin contamination is complicated by mixed infections of multiple species with similar morphology and aflatoxin profiles. The current study investigates variation in aflatoxin production between two morphologically similar species that co-exist in West Africa, A. aflatoxiformans and A.

Author(s): M.D. Hanvi, P. Lawson-Evi, E.C. Bouka, K. Eklu-Gadegbeku

Author(s): Shengnan Zhan, Jiaqi Hu, Yu Li, Xiaolin Huang, Yonghua Xiong

Effects of folic acid and protein levels on growth and serum chemistry in pigs fed aflatoxin were determined in two experiments. Increasing aflatoxin (250 to 800 ppb) decreased (P < 0.05) weight gain and feed intake for both of the 35-day trials. In Experiment 1, increasing aflatoxin (0, 250, 500 ppb), increased linearly (P < 0.05) aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALKP) and ɣ-glutamyl transferase (GGT).