Research Publications (Food Safety)

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a major mycotoxin present in animal feed and negatively affects growth and reproduction in farm species, including pigs and cattle. The mechanism of DON action involves the ribotoxic stress response (RSR), and it acts directly on ovarian granulosa cells to increase cell death. In ruminants, DON is metabolized to de-epoxy-DON (DOM-1), which cannot activate the RSR but has been shown to increase cell death in ovarian theca cells.

Background Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a widespread issue for feed and food safety, leading to animal and human health risks. The objective of this study was to determine whether ferroptosis is involved in DON-induced intestinal injury in piglets. Three groups of 21-day-old male weanling piglets (n = 7/group) were fed a control diet, or diet adding 1.0 or 3.0 mg DON/kg.

Aflatoxin, is a naturally occurring polyketide generated by Aspergillus flavus via biosynthetic pathways, including polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal enzymes. The in vitro analysis supported by molecular dynamics (MD) techniques was used to examine the antifungal and anti-aflatoxigenic activity of spent coffee grounds (SCGs) methanol extract. The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography results revealed the presence of 15 phenolic acids and five flavonoids.

The contamination of fermented feeds and foods with fungi and mycotoxins is a major food safety issue worldwide. Certain lactic acid bacteria (LAB), generally recognized as safe (GRAS) fermentation probiotics, are able to reduce microbial and mycotoxins contamination. In this study, Lactiplantibacillus (L.) plantarum Q1-2 and L.

Removal of aflatoxin is an urgent issue in agricultural products. A porous graphitic carbon nitride/graphene oxide hydrogel microsphere (CN/GO/SA) was synthesized and used to degrade AFB1 in peanut oil. CN/GO/SA was characterized by scanning electron micrograph (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FT-IR. The introduction of GO significantly improved the adsorption capacity and visible light activity of photocatalysts.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most occurring mycotoxin in oat and oat-based products. Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) has been proposed as a promising methodology for analysing DON contamination in the food industry. The present study aims to apply NIR-HSI for DON detection in oat kernels and to quantify and classify naturally DON-contaminated oat samples. Unground and ground oat samples were scanned by NIR-HSI before their DON content was determined by HPLC.

Vegetable oils are usually cocontaminated with different mycotoxins, including aflatoxins and zearalenone, which cause significant food safety issues. Establishment of multitarget, high-efficiency, and low-cost adsorption methods are considered to be ideal solutions for mycotoxin removal in vegetable oils. In this study, we used metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were used for the simultaneous removal of aflatoxins and zearalenone from vegetable oils.

Journal of Applied Toxicology, Accepted Article. We recently developed a rat whole exome sequencing (WES) panel and used it to evaluate early somatic mutations in archival liver tissues from F344/N rats exposed to the hepatocarcinogen, Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a widely studied, potent mutagen and hepatocarcinogen associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Rats were exposed to 1 ppm AFB1 in feed for 14, 90 and 90 days plus a recovery 60-day, non-exposure period (150-day) time point.

Mycotoxins, especially aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), should be measured and monitored to ensure the safe consumption of dairy products. This study aims to determine the amount and evaluate the health risk of AFM1 in milk for different age groups in the last two decades in Iran through a systematic review. A systematic search was conducted to extract the required data from June 27, 2000, to October 10, 2022, and 72 papers were eventually chosen for this study based on the study selection criteria.

Vulcanodinium rugosum is an emerging benthopelagic neuro-toxic dinoflagellate species responsible for seasonal Pinnatoxins and Portimines contaminations of shellfish and marine animals. This species is challenging to detect in the environment, as it is present in low abundance and difficult to be identified using light microscopy. In this work, we developed a method using artificial substrates coupled with qPCR (AS-qPCR) to detect V. rugosum in a marine environment.

Peanuts are susceptible to aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus. Exploring green, efficient, and economical ways to inhibit Aspergillus flavus is conducive to controlling aflatoxin contamination from the source. In this study, Ag-loaded titanium dioxide composites showed more than 90% inhibition rate against Aspergillus flavus under visible light irradiation for 15 min.

Toxigenic members of Aspergillus flavus contaminate cereal grains, resulting in contamination by aflatoxin, a food safety hazard that causes hepatocellular carcinoma. This study identified probiotic strains as aflatoxin detoxifiers and investigated the changes to the grain amino acid concentrations during fermentation with probiotics in the presence of either A. flavus La 3228 (an aflatoxigenic strain) or A. flavus La 3279 (an atoxigenic strain).

Pigs are the most sensitive animal to zearalenone (ZEN) contamination, especially after weaning, with acute deleterious effects on different health parameters. Although recommendations not to exceed 100 µg/kg in piglets feed exists (2006/576/EC), there are no clear regulations concerning the maximum limit in feed for piglets, which means that more investigations are necessary to establish a guidance value.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat, caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, is associated with grain contamination with mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON). Although FHB is often positively correlated with DON, this relationship can break down under certain conditions. One possible explanation for this could be the conversion of DON to DON-3-glucoside (D3G), which is typically missed by common DON testing methods.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, is associated with grain contamination with mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA). Unlike DON, less is known about factors affecting ZEA production during FHB epidemics. The objective of this study was to quantify ZEA contamination of wheat grain as influenced by temperature, relative humidity, FHB index (IND), grain maturation, simulated late-season rainfall, and harvest timing.

In this work, we proposed an acid hydrolysis-based analytical method for the detection of Alternaria toxins (ATs) in solanaceous vegetables and their products with solid-phase extraction (SPE) and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS). This study was the first to reveal that some compounds in the eggplant matrix bind to altenusin (ALS).

Aflatoxin contamination of maize is a major food safety issue worldwide. The problem is of special significance in African countries because maize is a staple food. This manuscript describes a low-cost, portable, non-invasive device for detecting and sorting aflatoxin-contaminated maize kernels. We developed a prototype employing a modified, normalized difference fluorescence index (NDFI) detection method to identify potentially aflatoxin-contaminated maize kernels.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is an estrogen-like mycotoxin, which mainly led to reproductive toxicity. The study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of ZEA-induced dysfunction of mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membranes (MAM) in piglet Sertoli cells (SCs) via the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) pathway. In this study, SCs were used as a research object that was exposed to ZEA, and ERS inhibitor 4-Phenylbutyrate acid (4-PBA) was used as a reference.

The conversion of aflatoxin B1 in feed consumed by cows into aflatoxin M1 in their milk poses a challenge to food safety, with milk being a popular staple food and because of the harmful effects of these compounds. This study aimed at reviewing scientific information about the extent of carry-over of AFB1 from feed to milk. A range of studies reported about correlations of carry-over with different factors, particularly with milk yield and AFB1 intake.

In Europe the legal limit for aflatoxin M1 in raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk for the manufacture of milk-based products is set to 50 ng kg−1. In Italy, an ‘attention limit’ of 40 ng kg−1 has been defined in 2013 for aflatoxin M1, while a more stringent attention limit of 30 ng kg−1 was set voluntarily by different regions in the following years.

The more frequent occurrence of marine harmful algal blooms (HABs) and recent problems with newly-described toxins in Puget Sound have increased the risk for illness and have negatively impacted sustainable access to shellfish in Washington State.

Deoxynivalenol (DON), as a widespread Fusarium mycotoxin in cereals, food products, and animal feed, is detrimental to both human and animal health. The liver is not only the primary organ responsible for DON metabolism but also the principal organ affected by DON toxicity. Taurine is well known to display various physiological and pharmacological functions due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Peanut is susceptible to Aspergillus flavus infection, and the consequent aflatoxin contamination has been recognized as an important risk factor affecting food safety and industry development.

The aim of this work was to estimate the effects of three recombinant peroxidases (rPODs) on the degradation of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in a model solution and were applied in milk and beer to study the AFM1 degradation. Besides, the contents of AFM1 in model solution, milk and beer were evaluated, and the kinetic parameters of rPODs were determined (Michaelis-Menten constant - Km and maximal velocity - Vmax).

The study investigated the short-term effects of a single oral bolus of zearalenone (ZEN) on the rumen microbiota and fermentation patterns in four rumen-cannulated Holstein cows fed a forage diet with daily 2 kg/cow concentrate. During the baseline day, cows received uncontaminated concentrate, followed by ZEN-contaminated concentrate on the second day, and again the uncontaminated concentrate on day three.