Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Fernanda Cosme, António Inês, Davide Silva, Luís Filipe-Ribeiro, Luís Abrunhosa, Fernando M. Nunes

A new protein microarray method for multiplex mycotoxin detection in parallel has been established on a stable TiO2-modified porous silicon (PSi) surface. A typical competitive immunoassay microarray protocol has been developed for simultaneous detection of multiplex mycotoxins including aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), and fumonisin B1 (FB1) on the TiO2-PSi surface.

Author(s): Xiangfeng Zheng, Wanning Wei, Wenyuan Zhou, Huaxiang Li, Shengqi Rao, Lu Gao, Zhenquan Yang

Ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination widely occurs in various feed ingredients and food crops, potentially posing a serious health threat to animals.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by species of Penicillium and Aspergillus that can contaminate products of plant origin that are used as animal feed. Through oral exposure, this mycotoxin primarily affects the chicken gastrointestinal system. The present study evaluated the intestinal toxic effects of OTA and the introduction of L-tryptophan to alleviate these effects in chickens.

In this study, eight food by-products were investigated as biosorbent approaches in removing mycotoxin load towards potential dietary inclusion in animal feed. Among these food-derived by-products, grape seed (GSM) and seabuckthorn (SBM) meals showed the most promising binding capacity for Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Zearalenone (ZEA), measured as percent of adsorbed mycotoxin.

The widespread use of Next-Generation Sequencing has opened a new era in the study of biological systems by significantly increasing the catalog of fungal genomes sequences and identifying gene clusters for known secondary metabolites as well as novel cryptic ones. However, most of these clusters still need to be examined in detail to completely understand the pathway steps and the regulation of the biosynthesis of metabolites.

Author(s): Guillaume Legrand Ngolong Ngea, Qiya Yang, William Tchabo, Raffaello Castoria, Xiaoyun Zhang, Hongyin Zhang

Author(s): Stoycho D. Stoev

An LC–MS/MS method coupled with a stable isotope dilution assay was established for the simultaneous detection of 17 mycotoxins and their derivatives (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, M1, and M2; fumonisins B1 and B2; ochratoxin A; zearalenone; zearalanone; α‐zearalanol; α‐zearalenol; T‐2 toxin; deoxynivalenol; deepoxy‐deoxynivalenol; and sterigmatocystin) in milk and dairy products.

Spices are imported worldwide mainly from developing countries with tropical and/or subtropical climate. Local conditions, such as high temperature, heavy rainfall, and humidity, promote fungal growth leading to increased occurrence of mycotoxins in spices. Moreover, the lack of good agricultural practice (GAP), good manufacturing practice (GMP), and good hygienic practice (GHP) in developing countries are of great concern.

An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of trichothecenes—namely, nivalenol (NIV), deoxynivalenol (DON) and its acetylated derivatives (3- and 15-acetyl-DON), T-2 and HT-2 toxins—and zearalenone (ZEN) in wheat, wheat flour, and wheat crackers was validated through a collaborative study involving 15 participants from 10 countries.

Author(s): Daniel López-Puertollano, Consuelo Agulló, Josep V. Mercader, Antonio Abad-Somovilla, Antonio Abad-Fuentes

Author(s): Celine Meerpoel, Arnau Vidal, Mirjana Andjelkovic, Marthe De Boevre, Emmanuel K. Tangni, Bart Huybrechts, Mathias Devreese, Siska Croubels, Sarah De Saeger

Author(s): Caiping Huang, Bangzhu Peng

Author(s): Josué Delgado, Juan J. Rondán, Félix Núñez, Alicia Rodríguez

The consumption of herbal-based supplements, which are believed to have beneficial effects on human health with no side effects, has become popular around the world and this trend is still increasing. Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn, commonly known as milk thistle (MT), is the most commonly studied herb associated with the treatment of liver diseases. The hepatoprotective effects of active substances in silymarin, with silybin being the main compound, have been demonstrated in many studies.

The inclusion of anti-mycotoxin additives (AMA) in the diet of production animals has been widely used to avoid mycotoxin exposure. In order to confirm the efficacy of such products in vivo, measurement of mycotoxins and/or their metabolites in biological fluids is preconized. This study aimed at determining the serological biomarkers of zearalenone (ZEN), α-zearalenol, β-zearalenol, α-zearalanol, β-zearalanol (β-ZAL) and zearalanone, to evaluate the efficacy of an AMA in beef heifers.

Mycotoxins are common in grains in sub-Saharan Africa and negatively impact human and animal health and production. This study assessed occurrences of mycotoxins, some plant, and bacterial metabolites in 16 dairy and 27 poultry feeds, and 24 feed ingredients from Machakos town, Kenya, in February and August 2019. We analyzed the samples using a validated multi-toxin liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method.

In a recent study conducted by Zhang et al. (2019), the adenosine monophosphate‐specific aptamer has been applied for the rapid extraction of ochratoxin A. Although several publications have already reported the selection of adenosine monophosphate, adenosine triphosphate, and adenosine, there is no report on the detection of ochratoxin A using this aptamer. The data of Zhang et al.

Author(s): Manar Al Ayoubi, Michele Solfrizzo, Lucia Gambacorta, Ian Watson, Nada El Darra

Spices are susceptible to mycotoxin contamination which can cause gastrointestinal and adverse central nervous symptoms in humans, which highlights the importance of assessing the risk of their consumption on a daily basis. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of mycotoxin intake from spices in routinely prepared Lebanese dishes.

An assessment of the natural ochratoxin A (OTA) exposure of seven Martina Franca jennies was carried out by analyzing blood and milk samples collected close to and after delivery. A total of 41 and 34 blood samples were collected from jennies and foals, respectively, and analyzed by ELISA. A total of 33 milk samples were collected from jennies and analyzed by the HPLC/FLD method based on IAC clean-up.

Author(s): Koji Kikukawa, Miki Fukui, Ayano Oka, Ryohei Yamamoto, Atsushi Yamamoto, Mikiko Uchigashima, Takeshi Kono, Daisuke Kozaki, Shuji Kodama

Aspergillus section Circumdati includes 27 species, some of which are considered ochratoxin A (OTA) producers. However, there is considerable controversy about their potential OTA synthesis ability. In this work, the complete genomes of 13 species of Aspergillus section Circumdati were analyzed in order to study the cluster of OTA biosynthetic genes and the region was compared to those previously reported in A. steynii and A. westerdijkiae.

Author(s): Donato Magistà, Giuseppe Cozzi, Lucia Gambacorta, Antonio F. Logrieco, Michele Solfrizzo, Giancarlo Perrone