Research Publications (Food Safety)

Coix seed is a minor cereal that has been used as a functional food in the Chinese diet due to its high nutritional value and health effects. These claimed health benefits include antioxidation, anti-cancer, anti-inflammation and enhancing immunological activity. But coix seed is easily contaminated by various mycotoxin, of which aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of major threat to human and animal health.

A new and novel poly(vinyl benzyl dithiocarbonate-dimethyl amino ethyl methacrylate) block copolymer (Pvb-DMA-Xa) as adsorbent was synthesized for the vortex-assisted dispersive solid phase microextraction (VA-DSPME) of patulin from apple products and dried fruits using Uv–visible spectrophotometer. The characterization of synthesized Pvb-DMA-Xa block copolymer was performed with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) technique.

The toxicity of mycotoxins containing bisfuranoid structures such as aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) depends largely on biotransformation processes. While the genotoxicity and mutagenicity of several bisfuranoid mycotoxins including AFB1 and sterigmatocystin have been linked to in vivo bioactivation of these molecules into reactive epoxide forms, the metabolites of genotoxic and mutagenic AFB1 precursor versicolorin A (VerA) have not yet been characterized.

In this paper, we assessed the ability of two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in viable and dead forms, to remove ochratoxin A (OTA) from an artificially contaminated synthetic grape juice medium (SGM) (10 µg OTA/L) and a naturally contaminated grape juice (6.64 µg OTA/L). The first strain, named Levulin FB, is a commercial yeast used in making wine. The second, named SC5, is an autochthonous strain isolated from table grapes.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important diseases of barley in Manitoba province (western Canada), and other major barley producing regions of the world. Little is known about the Fusarium species and mycotoxin spectra associated with FHB of barley in Manitoba.

An analytical method based on PRiME (process, robustness, improvements, matrix effects, ease of use) HLB purification followed by the ultra-high liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) detection has been developed for the determination aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 and bongkrekic acid in rice and noodle products. Five toxins were separated on a Waters BEH C18 column by gradient elution, scanned by ESI+ and ESI− dynamic switching and detected with MRM mode.

As one of the most important conjugated mycotoxins, zearalenone-14-glucoside (Z14G) has received widespread attention from researchers. Although the metabolism of Z14G in animals has been extensively studied, the intracellular toxicity and metabolic process of Z14G are not fully elucidated. In this study, the cytotoxicity of Z14G to human ovarian granulosa cells (KGN) and the metabolism of Z14G in KGN cells were determined.

Fusarium culmorum is a major pathogen of grain crops. Infected plants accumulate deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), or nivalenol (NIV), which are mycotoxins of the trichothecene B group. These toxins are also produced by F. graminearum species complex.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Food contamination with aflatoxin is one of the most critical concerns of health professionals. One of the best ways to reduce aflatoxin content in food is probiotics. Therefore, this study was performed to isolate Bifidobacterium from the chick's intestine; evaluate its probiotic activities and its application with Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to reduce aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the medium were investigated.

Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory, estrogen-dependent gynecological disease characterized by the growth of endometrial stromal cells and glands outside the uterine cavity in response to hormones, which commonly occurs in reproductive-age women. Zearalenone (ZEA) is a toxic metabolite produced by Fusarium, which acts as estrogen activity because of the similarity of its structure to estrogen.

Tea is popular worldwide with multiple health benefits. It may be contaminated by the accidental introduction of toxigenic fungi during production and storage. The present study focuses on potential mycotoxin contamination in tea and the probable dietary exposure assessments associated with consumption. The contamination levels for 16 mycotoxins in 352 Chinese tea samples were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.

A chromatography-free detection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in cereals and oils through atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) has been developed using quantum dots and immunomagnetic beads. A magneto-controlled pretreatment platform for automatic purification, labeling, and digestion was constructed, and AFB1 detection through AAS was enabled.

Oat is susceptible to several Fusarium species that cause contamination with different trichothecene mycotoxins. The molecular mechanisms behind Fusarium resistance in oat have yet to be elucidated. In the present work, we identified and characterised two oat UDP-glucosyltransferases orthologous to barley HvUGT13248.

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.

The European Food Safety Authority is currently evaluating the risks related to the presence of emerging mycotoxins in food and feeds. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of soil fertility, resulting from different nitrogen fertilization rates, on the contamination of regulated mycotoxins and emerging fungal metabolites in maize grains.

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) contamination in feed is of great concern nowadays. The intestine would be the first line when FB1-contaminated food or feed was ingested. However, the intestinal toxicity and mechanism of FB1 have rarely been studied. In this study, we found that FB1 inhibited cell viability, and promoted the severe release of lactate dehydrogenase. Meantime, FB1 destroyed the intestinal physical barrier by reducing the expressions of tight junctions.

Fumonisins are a group of closely related mycotoxins produced by Fusarium, Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus species. Their occurrence is correlated with various factors during growth, processing and storage. Fumonisins occurrence data in the literature mainly include the B group of fumonisins (FB1 & FB2) in raw materials, showing high frequency of positive samples in a wide range of concentrations.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. pH is an important environmental factor for the virulence of fungi. To explore the effect of tissue pH on the diffusion behavior of Penicillium expansum and patulin, pear (pH 4.98), apple (pH 3.72) and kiwifruit (pH 3.31) were selected to inoculate P. expansum. When the diameter of the lesion was 1 cm or 2 cm, tissues within a certain distance (0, 1, 2, and 3 cm) from the lesion were sampled.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin frequently found in cereal crops and cereal-derived foodstuffs worldwide. It affects plant productivity, and is also a serious hazard to humans and animals if being exposed to food/feed contaminated by ZEA.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a major food safety concern, threatening the health of humans and animals. Bentonite (BEN) is an aluminosilicate clay used as a feed additive to reduce AFB1 presence in contaminated feedstuff. So far, few studies have characterized BEN toxicity and efficacy in vitro.

Aspergillus species can produce aflatoxins (AFs), which can severely affect human and animal health. The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of reducing AF contamination of a non-aflatoxigenic isolate of A. flavus experimentally coinoculated with different aflatoxigenic strains in whole plant (WP), corn silage (CS), immature grains (IG) and in culture media (CM). An L-morphotype of A.

The fungal secondary metabolite patulin is a mycotoxin widespread in foods and beverages which poses a serious threat to human health. However, no enzyme was known to be able to degrade this mycotoxin. For the first time, we discovered that a manganese peroxidase (MrMnP) from Moniliophthora roreri can efficiently degrade patulin. The MrMnP gene was cloned into pPICZα(A) and then the recombinant plasmid was transformed into Pichia pastoris X-33.

This work developed an enzyme-free fluorescent aptasensor for sensitive aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) detection based on a dual signal amplification strategy of hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and Zn2+-dependent DNAzyme. In the presence of AFB1, the aptamer specifically binds to the target, releasing the blocking DNA, which can initiate HCR between hairpin probes H1 and H2.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is reported to cause intestinal damage following ingestion of contaminated foods. Tibetan kefir (TK) is a fermented dairy product that possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gut microbiota-regulating properties. However, it is not clear if TK can alleviate OTA-associated intestinal toxicity. Here, we investigated whether TK can prevent OTA-induced intestinal barrier disruption in mice.

Patulin (PAT) is a common food-borne mycotoxin with diverse toxic effects including nephrotoxicity.