Research Publications (Food Safety)

QuEChERS combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed to analyze multi-class mycotoxins including aflatoxins, ochratoxins, and Alternaria toxins in apples and tomatoes. Using apples and tomatoes as the research models, the method performance had been evaluated, showing great convenience, high sensitivity, and good reliability. The limit of detections was of 0.05–20 μg/L.

Author(s): Pauline Christ Ledur, Janio M. Santurio

Several studies have reported a wide range of severe health effects as well as clinical signs, when livestock animals are exposed to high concentration of mycotoxins. However, little is known regarding health effects of mycotoxins at low levels. Thus, a long-term feeding trial (between May 2017 and December 2019) was used to evaluate the effect of low doses of mycotoxin mixtures on performance of broiler chickens fed a naturally contaminated diet.

Author(s): Guannan Le, Xin Yuan, Lili Hou, Lei Ge, Shuiping Liu, Muhmood Azhar, Kai Liu, Ziman Lin, Dandan Liu, Fang Gan, Suquan Song, Cuilin Pan, Xingxiang Chen, Kehe Huang

Food contamination with mycotoxins is a worldwide concern, because these toxins produced by several fungal species have detrimental effects on animal and/or human health. In maize, fumonisins are among the toxins with the highest threatening potential because they are mainly produced by Fusarium verticillioides, which is distributed worldwide.

Grape pomace (GP) is the residue of grapes after wine making and is a valuable source of dietary polyphenol and fiber for health promotion. However, studies found the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in GP at very high concentrations, which raises a safety issue in the value-added utilization of GP. This study evaluated the effects of thermal pressure, baking, acid and enzymatic treatments on OTA content in GP.

Author(s): Ahmed Tabarani, Abdellah Zinedine, Nourredine Bouchriti, El Hassane Abdennebi

Rye (Secale cereale L.) is one of the most important cereals and is used in both the food and feed industries. It is produced mainly in a belt extending from Russia through Poland to Germany. Despite the great economic importance of this cereal, there is little research on rye contamination with mycotoxins.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a non-steroidal mycotoxin that has various toxicological impacts on mammalian health. Here, we found that ZEN significantly affected the production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs).

Mycotoxins such as aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA) fumonisins (FMN), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), and patulin are stable at regular food process practices. Ozone (O3) is a strong oxidizer and generally considered as a safe antimicrobial agent in food industries. Ozone disrupts fungal cells through oxidizing sulfhydryl and amino acid groups of enzymes or attacks the polyunsaturated fatty acids of the cell wall.

Author(s): Stoycho Stoev

The toxicokinetics (TK) of hydrolyzed fumonisin B1 (HFB1) were evaluated in 16 broiler chickens after being fed either a control or a fumonisins-contaminated diet (10.8 mg fumonisin B1, 3.3 mg B2 and 1.5 mg B3/kg feed) for two weeks, followed by a single oral (PO) or intravenous (IV) dose of 1.25 mg/kg bodyweight (BW) of HFB1.

Ruminal microbiota of cattle are not able to detoxify all mycotoxins. In addition, detoxification can be hampered by adverse ruminal conditions (e.g., low ruminal pH). Hence, in the cattle husbandry, mycotoxin binders and modifiers could be used to prevent animal exposure to mycotoxins. In this study, an in vitro rumen model, including feed matrix, was established as first screening tool to test the efficacy of five products claiming to detoxify mycotoxins.

Nyjer and flax seeds are important oilseeds that are used for both human and animal consumption. Aspergilluscarbonariusproduced ochratoxin A (OTA) up to 271 μg/kg on ground nyjer seeds incubated with 0.98 awat 20°C, while A. carbonarius produced the highest OTA (146 μg/kg) on ground flax seeds incubated with 0.94 awat 20°C. Overall, ground nyjer seed is better than flax seed to support growth and OTA production by A. carbonarius.

Author(s): Chaochao Chen, Xuezhi Yu, Diangang Han, Jun Ai, Yuebin Ke, Zhanhui Wang, Geng Meng

Ochratoxins, patulin, deoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin are mycotoxins, and common contaminants in food and drinks. Human serum albumin (HSA) forms complexes with certain mycotoxins. Since HSA can affect the toxicokinetics of bound ligand molecules, the potential interactions of ochratoxin B (OTB), ochratoxin C (OTC), patulin, deoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin with HSA were examined, employing spectroscopic (fluorescence, UV, and circular dichroism) and ultrafiltration techniques.

The aim of the study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB 1 ) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in durum wheat samples collected over six period of time, from two official warehouses A and B in Lebanon. The concentrations of AFB 1 in wheat samples taken from warehouses A and B were ranging from 1.05 to 7.36 µg/kg. Results showed that 23.3% and 25.3% of samples taken from warehouse A and B respectively had AFB 1 levels greater than 2 μg/kg (> 2 μg/kg).

An increasing number of studies have found that modified mycotoxins, such as free mycotoxins, naturally occur in food, and severely impact food safety.

One of the concerns when using grain ingredients in feed formulation for livestock and poultry diets is mycotoxin contamination. Aflatoxin, fumonisin, ochratoxin, trichothecene (deoxynivalenol, T-2 and HT-2) and zearalenone (ZEN) are mycotoxins that have been frequently reported in animal feed. ZEN, which has raised additional concern due to its estrogenic response in animals, is mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum (F. graminearum), F. culmorum, F. cerealis, F. equiseti, F.

The monitoring and control of mycotoxins has caused widespread concern due to their adverse effects on human health. In this research, a simple, sensitive and non-label fluorescent aptasensor has been reported for mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) detection based on high selectivity of aptamers and amplification of non-enzyme hybridization chain reaction (HCR). After the introduction of OTA, the aptamer portion of hairpin probe H1 will combine with OTA to form OTA-aptamer complexes.

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin widely found worldwide that is produced by several fungal species. Due to its similarity to estradiol, it has been shown to have toxic effects on the reproductive system. Although various animal studies have been conducted to investigate the toxic effects of zearalenone, the mechanisms of toxicity have not been fully elucidated. The aim of the study was to investigate the dose-dependent toxic effects of zearalenone exposure in human kidney cells.

During grape cultivation and wine production, the most effective way to prevent ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination of grapes and wine is the control of ochratoxigenic fungal species, and especially Aspergillus carbonarius, using the appropriate cultivation techniques. In this study, the influence of Organic (OFS) and Integrated (IFS) farming systems, on the incidence of A. carbonarius on grapes, and OTA contamination of wine, were examined.

Mycotoxins are toxic compounds for humans and animals that are produced by fungi. Mycotoxin contamination in feed is a global safety concern and effective control of these compounds in this matrix is needed.

Author(s): Chaozhi Wei, Leilei Yu, Nanzhen Qiao, Jianxin Zhao, Hao Zhang, Qixiao Zhai, Fengwei Tian, Wei Chen

The maize pathogen Fusarium verticillioides and their mycotoxins cause damage to plants, animals, and human health. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of crude extracts (CEs) from Agaricus subrufescens, Lentinula edodes, and Pleurotus ostreatus fruiting bodies on in vitro production of biomass and mycotoxins by two strains of F. verticillioides. Stipes and pilei were separated before extraction for A. subrufescens and L. edodes.