Research Publications (Food Safety)

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the mycotoxins that contaminate cereals and feed, thereby endangering human and animal health. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a derivative of artemisinin, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions in addition to anti-malaria and anti-cancer.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic substance produced mainly by Aspergillus spp., which are known to contaminate a wide variety of foods and feeds.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that, depending on the type and exposure levels, can be a threat to human and animal health. When multiple mycotoxins occur together, their risk effects on human and animal health can be additive or synergistic. Little information is known about the specific types of mycotoxins or their co-occurrence in the state of Michigan and the Great Lakes region of the United States.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the major mycotoxins causing severe effects on the health of humans and animals. Ochratoxin alpha (OTα) is a metabolite of OTA, which is produced through microbial or enzymatic hydrolysis, and one of the preferred routes of OTA detoxification.

Spices and herbs are widely used food ingredients that enhance most organoleptic features of prepared foods. They are also used for medicinal and preservative purposes. Spices and herbs are potential carriers of bacteria, yeasts, and molds due to the nature of cultivation, harvest methods, storage conditions, packaging procedures, distribution, sale, and general handling.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum and is commonly found in cereals such as wheat, barley, oats, and their derivatives. Scientists have been working on different strategies for DON detoxification, with biological detoxification being an approach with growing interest.

Due to the climatic change, an increase in aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) maize contamination has been reported in Europe. As an alternative to mineral binders, natural phytogenic compounds are increasingly used to counteract the negative effects of AFB1 in farm animals. In cows, even low dietary AFB1 concentrations may result in the milk excretion of the genotoxic carcinogen metabolite aflatoxin M1 (AFM1).

Meta-analysis was used to investigate the concentration and prevalence of AFM1 in different types of cheese consumed in Iran. The results demonstrated that the pooled estimated mean of AFM1 concentration in Iranian cheese was 130.65 ng kg-1 (95% CI: 110.43, 150.86), while the percentage of AFM1 positive samples were 66.56% (95% CI: 56.82, 76.30).

Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A (OTA) are chemical hazards in dried figs that induce adverse effects on international trade. However, there is no maximum level (ML) for OTA in dried figs worldwide. Risk assessment of OTA in dried figs has drawn great attention for establishing an ML or providing other risk management advice to control or prevent contamination.

In order to study the relationship between the distribution and aflatoxin production capacity of Aspergillus species and soil types, 35 soil samples were collected from the main peanut planting areas in Xiangyang, which has 19.7 thousand square kilometers and is located in a special area with different soil types. The soil types of peanut planting areas in Xiangyang are mainly sandy loam and clay loam, and most of the soil is acidic, providing unique nature conditions for this study.

Fusarium fujikuroi, a causal agent of Rice Bakanae Disease, produces secondary metabolites such as gibberellin, pigments bikaverin, and mycotoxins fumonisins. Fumonisins produced by F. fujikuroi pose a severe threat to human and animal health. The copper chaperone protein plays a critical role in different growth stages of plants, fungi, and yeasts, but their functions and regulation in fumonisin biosynthesis are still unclear. Here, a copper chaperone protein, FfCOX17, was identified in F.

The fungal ear rot of maize cultivated in temperate areas is mainly due to the Fusarium species. The use of insecticides against European Corn Borer (ECB) reduces the severity of fungal ear rot as well as the fumonisin (FB) and moniliformin (MON) levels in maize kernels at harvest, which in turn results in a lowering of their effect on deoxynivalenol (DON) control.

Patulin is a mycotoxin that primarily contaminate apples and apple products. Whole cell or cell-free extracts of Gluconobacter oxydans ATCC 621 were able to transform patulin to E-ascladiol.

Abstract The multimycotoxin analysis of aflatoxins (AFs), zearalenone (ZEA), ochratoxin A (OTA), enniatins (ENNs) and beauvericin (BEA) was performed in 85 samples of medicinal herbs dietary supplements. The samples were classified in 64 samples of one herbal ingredient and 21 mixed samples. The extraction was performed by QuEChERS method and the determination by liquid chromatography coupled to ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS-IT).

Maize and other cereals are the commodities most contaminated with fumonisins. The maize acreage is increasing in Africa, and the maize harvest provides important foods for humans and feeds for domestic animals throughout the continent. In North Africa, high levels of fumonisins have been reported from Algeria and Morocco, while low levels have been detected in the rather few fumonisin analyses reported from Tunisia and Egypt.

International Journal of Food Science & Technology, Accepted Article. Aflatoxins are known for their high toxicity, and their presence in food is associated with a high health risk. The levels were set for aflatoxin in different foodstuffs to protect public health. Various chemical, physical, and biological methods have been reported for decontamination and detoxifying aflatoxins. Among biological methods, probiotics have an important role in the decontamination of aflatoxins.

Pistachio nuts can become colonized by mycotoxigenic fungi, especially Aspergillus flavus, resulting in contamination with aflatoxins (AFs). We examined the effect of gaseous O3 (50–200 ppm; 30 min; 6 L/min) on (a) in vitro germination, (b) mycelial growth, and (c) aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production on a milled pistachio nut-based medium at different water activity (aw) levels and at 30 °C.

In order to improve the hygienic characteristics of the wheat kernels and flours, gentle debranning technology was employed in this study. The physical, chemical and microbial modifications associated with the debranning of common wheat at a peeling rate of 0–5% were examined. Results showed that 80.1% of microorganisms and 15.82% of deoxynivalenol were removed when 1.08% of the total weight of the grain was peeled.

Red fermented rice (RFR) is produced using Monascus spp. This product has some health benefits. However, RFR can also contain the mycotoxin, citrinin (CIT) and that has adverse effects on human health.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is an important cause of human liver cancer. This study proposes a quantitative detection method for the AFB1 in corn based on Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy technology.

Abstract Zearalenone (ZEN) contamination of various foods and feeds is an important global problem. In some animals and humans, ZEN causes significant health issues in addition to massive economic losses, annually. Therefore, removal or degradation of the ZEN in foods and feeds is required to be done.

We investigated the effect of replacing normal corn (NC) or normal wheat bran (NW) with moldy corn (MC) or moldy wheat bran (MW) on growth, ovarian follicular reserves, and oxidative status.

A bispecific monoclonal antibody (BsMAb) that can simultaneously recognize aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and amantadine (AMD) was prepared. Quantum dot nanobead immunochromatographic assay (QB-ICA) based on the BsMAb was developed for the simultaneous detection of AFB1 and AMD in four feed samples (suckling pig feed, piglet feed, sow feed, and compound feed for laying ducks).

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and teratogenesis effects and mainly found in food crops and their processed foods. AFB1 exposure can cause acute or chronic liver poisoning, but there were few studies on the persistent effects of acute AFB1 exposure on the liver. In this study, rat liver injury models were established 2 and 7 days after single exposure to high and low doses of AFB1.

Sphingolipid long-chain bases (LCBs) are building blocks for membrane-localized sphingolipids, and are involved in signal transduction pathways in plants. Elevated LCB levels are associated with the induction of programmed cell death and pathogen-derived toxin-induced cell death. Therefore, levels of free LCBs can determine survival of plant cells.