Research Publications (Food Safety)

Frequent detection of mycotoxins ochratoxin A (OTA) and citrinin (CIT) in ruminant feed and feedstuff can be a potential threat to feed safety, animal performance and health. Ineffective biodegradation of these mycotoxins by rumen microflora following ingestion of contaminated feeds can lead to their circulatory transport to tissues such as mammary gland as the result of their biodistribution throughout the body.

Mitochondria hold redox homeostasis and energy metabolism as a crucial factor during oocyte maturation, while the exposure of estrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone causes developmental incapacity in porcine oocyte. This study aimed to reveal a potential resistance of phytoalexin resveratrol against zearalenone during porcine oocyte maturation and whether its mechanism was related with PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin-mediated mitophagy.

Aflatoxins are strong carcinogenic and mutagenic fungal metabolites, and aflatoxin contamination is a critical issue in agriculture and food production. Natural flavonoids can suppress aflatoxin biosynthesis; however, the structure–activity relationship remains unclear.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a metabolite of carcinogenic aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and appears in milk of dairy animals on ingestion of feed contaminated with AFB1. It has been reported to have affinity towards milk proteins, the exact mechanism of which is still unknown. In the present study, ATR-FTIR coupled with chemometrics is utilized to understand AFM1 interaction with milk proteins.

Similar to Pu-erh tea, Liupao tea is a post-fermented tea that is produced through natural fermentation by microorganisms. Penicillium citrinum has been detected is involved in multiple production processes of Liupao tea that can produce citrinin, a secondary metabolite with renal toxicity; however, the effect of P. citrinum on the quality of Liupao tea has not been investigated yet.

Bioenzymatic degradation of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly detoxification technology.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contaminates rice during harvest or storage and causes a considerable risk to human and animal health. In this study, Trametes versicolor AFB1–degrading enzyme (TV–AFB1D) gene recombinantly expressed in engineered E. coli BL21 (DE3) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The TV–AFB1D enzymatic characteristics and AFB1 degradation efficiency in contaminated rice were investigated. Results showed that the size of recombinant TV-AFB1D expressing in E. coli BL21 (DE3) and S.

Mycotoxins are bioaccumulative contaminants impacting animals and humans. The simultaneous detection of frequent active exposures and accumulated mycotoxin level (s) in exposed organisms would be the most ideal to enable appropriate actions. However, few methods are available for the purpose, and there is a demand for dedicated, sensitive, reliable, and practical assays.

Peanuts and peanut butter play an important role nutritionally in improving the diets of individuals in many parts of Africa, especially in the fight against child malnutrition. However, in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, most of the raw peanuts and peanut butter produced in backyard industries are sold in informal markets and rarely undergo formal safety inspection for aflatoxin contamination.

In this work, a fluorescence and colorimetric dual-mode immunoassay for detecting zearalenone (ZEN) was established. This platform relied on the dephosphorylation of p-nitrophenyl phosphate (PNPP) by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) to produce yellow p-nitrophenol (PNP). And the internal filtration effect between G-quadruplex/N-methylmesoporphyrin IX (G4/NMM) and PNP led to fluorescence quenching of G4/NMM.

In this study, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of deoxynivalenol, aflatoxin B1, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin and fumonisin B1 in feed and feedstuff was established.

Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus fungi. The most toxic among them is Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) which is known to have genotoxic, immunotoxic, teratogenic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic toxic effects (amongst others). The mechanisms responsible for its toxicity include the induction of oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, and DNAdamage.

The almond industry suffers product losses caused by mold growth and toxin contamination. Gaseous chlorine dioxide (ClO2) has the potential for postharvest reduction of mycotoxic Aspergillus flavus. In this study, almonds inoculated with A. flavus were fumigated with gaseous ClO2 for 1, 2, 3, 8, 12, and 24 h using a dry precursor sachet batch method. The headspace concentration ranged from 0.5-2.4 mg/L, depending on initial dosing and time.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a powerful mycotoxin that can cause severe damage to human health, and its detection has attracted considerable attention in the field of food science. We present a robust and facile label-free colorimetric aptasensor for OTA detection using the aptamer-enhanced oxidase-like activity of MnO2 nanoflowers.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is second only to aflatoxin in toxicity among mycotoxins. Recent studies have shown that selenomethionine (SeMet) has a protective effect on mycotoxin-induced toxicity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect and mechanism of SeMet on OTA-induced liver injury in rabbits.

This study assessed a reliable and accessible method based on QuEChERS (quicky, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) and HPLC–PDA to determine simultaneously deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), and 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15-ADON) to be applied to monitor the contamination indifferent oat products. These mycotoxins can affect the functionality of oat products that are used in the feed of different human groups.

Fusarium Head Blight is a devastating disease of wheat caused by a complex of Fusarium species producing a wide range of mycotoxins. Fusarium species occurrence is variable in different geographical areas and subjected to a continuous evolution in their distribution. A total of 141 durum wheat field samples were collected in different regions of Italy in three years, and analyzed for Fusarium species and related mycotoxin occurrence.

The paper outlines a procedure based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry and QuEChERS pretreatment for the determination of patulin in selected berries and stone fruits. The mycotoxin was determined in the positive electrospray ionization mode utilizing the formation of its methanol adduct.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a common secondary metabolite of Aspergillus ochraceus, A. carbonarius, and Penicillium verrucosum. This mycotoxin is largely present as a contaminant in several cereal crops and human foodstuffs, including grapes, corn, nuts, and figs, among others. Preclinical studies have reported the involvement of OTA in metabolic, physiologic, and immunologic disturbances as well as in carcinogenesis.

Agronomic factors can affect mycotoxin contamination of maize, one of the most produced cereals. Maize is usually harvested at 18% moisture, but it is not microbiologically stable until it reaches 14% moisture at the drying plants. We studied how three agronomic factors (crop diversification, tillage system and nitrogen fertilization rate) can affect fungal and mycotoxin contamination (deoxynivalenol and fumonisins B1 and B2) in maize at harvest.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Aspergillus flavus is a ubiquitous saprotrophic soil-borne pathogenic fungus that causes crops contamination with the carcinogen aflatoxins. Although Sirtuin E (SirE) is known to be a NAD-dependent histone deacetylase involved in global transcriptional regulation. Its biological functions in A. flavus are not fully understood.

The aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2) were investigated in 60 beer samples of the leading commercial beer brands, with and without adjuncts, produced in Brazil. An analytical method was standardized and validated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The extraction was carried out using immunoaffinity columns.

Deoxynivalenol and zearalenone contamination in maize poses a threat to food safety. Thus, the development of a cost-effective and non-destructive method to classify deoxynivalenol and zearalenone contaminated maize is an important research issue. Natural deoxynivalenol and zearalenone contaminated maize were randomly selected for this experiment.

Nowadays, the application of rapid molecular-based methods such as PCR/qPCR and isothermal techniques like Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA), has increased in order to overcome some of the drawbacks of traditional culture-based methods due to their high sensitivity and specificity. One of the main limitations of these techniques is their inability to differentiate between live and dead microorganisms.

Mycotoxin represents a significant concern for the safety of food and feed products, and wheat represents one of the most susceptible crops. To manage this issue, fast, reliable, and low-cost test methods are needed for regulated mycotoxins. This study aimed to assess the potential use of the electronic nose for the early identification of wheat samples contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) above a fixed threshold.