Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): YanYan Yi, ShuangXiu Wan, YaXin Hou, Jia Cheng, JianHua Guo, Shaoyu Wang, Ajab Khan, Na Sun, Hongquan Li

Mycotoxins contamination in cereal‐based food is ubiquitous according to systematic review of the scientific documentation of worldwide mycotoxin contamination in cereal and their products between 2008 and 2018, thus representing food safety issue especially in developing tropical countries. Food processing plays a vital role to prevent mycotoxin contamination in food.

Plant-based ingredients have been successfully replacing fishmeal in finished fish feeds. However, using crops in feeds results in an increased risk of contamination by fungi and mycotoxins and a higher incidence of mycotoxicosis in fish. This might decrease aquaculture’s productivity as mycotoxicosis generally result in decreased body weight, growth impairment and higher rates of disease and mortality in fish. Additionally, some mycotoxins might accumulate in the fish musculature.

A wide range of pet food types are available on the market; the dominant type is dry food formulated in croquets. One of the most common ingredients of dry food are cereals—vectors of harmful mycotoxins posing the risk to pet health. In this study, 38 cat and dog dry food samples available on the Polish market were investigated. Morphological and molecular methods were applied to identify fungal genera present in pet food.

Mycotoxins found in randomly selected commercial milk thistle dietary supplement were evaluated for their toxicity in silico and in vitro. Using in silico methods, the basic physicochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of the mycotoxins were predicted using ACD/Percepta. The in vitro cytotoxicity of individual mycotoxins was determined in mouse macrophage (RAW 264.7), human hepatoblastoma (HepG2), and human embryonic kidney (HEK 293T) cells.

The presence of mycotoxins in cereal grain is a very important food safety issue with the occurrence of masked mycotoxins extensively investigated in recent years. This study investigated the variation of different Fusarium metabolites (including the related regulated, masked, and emerging mycotoxin) in maize from various agriculture regions of South Africa. The relationship between the maize producing regions, the maize type, as well as the mycotoxins was established.

Author(s): Simindokht Rostami, Kinga Zór, Demi Shuang Zhai, Marlitt Viehrig, Lidia Morelli, Ali Mehdinia, Jørn Smedsgaard, Tomas Rindzevicius, Anja Boisen

Abstract

Main conclusion

This study provides broad insight into the chloroplast genomes of the subfamily Monsteroideae. The identified polymorphic regions may be suitable for designing unique and robust molecular markers for phylogenetic inference.

This manuscript reviews the state-of-the-art regarding human biological monitoring (HBM) of mycotoxins in plasma serum and blood samples. After a comprehensive and systematic literature review, with a focus on the last five years, several aspects were analyzed and summarized: a) the biomarkers analyzed and their encountered levels, b) the analytical methodologies developed and c) the relationship between biomarker levels and some illnesses.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of long-term (48 days), per os administration of specific zearalenone (ZEN) doses (20 and 40 μg ZEN/kg BW in experimental groups EI and EII, which were equivalent to 200% and 400% of the upper range limit of the no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL), respectively) on the bioavailability of ZEN and the rate of changes in estradiol and testosterone concentrations in the peripheral blood of pre-pubertal gilts.

Author(s): Sabrina Alves da Silva, Rosemary Gualberto Fonseca Alvarenga Pereira, Nathasha Lira de Azevedo, Eduardo Micotti da Glória, Sara Maria Chalfoun, Luís Roberto Batista

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of selenium yeast (Se-Y) against hepatotoxicity induced by ochratoxin A (OTA). The OTA-induced liver injury model was established in chickens by daily oral gavage of 50 µg/kg OTA for 21 days. Serum biochemistry analysis, antioxidant analysis, as well as the qRT-PCR and Western blot (WB) analyses were then used to evaluate oxidative damage and apoptosis in chicken liver tissue.

Zearalenone (ZEN) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are key concerns of the food industry because of their toxicity and pollution scope. This study investigated the effects of ozone and electron beam irradiation (EBI) on the degradation of ZEN and OTA. Results demonstrated that 2 mL of 50 μg/mL ZEN was completely degraded after 10 s of treatment by 2.0 mg/L ozone. The degradation rate of 1 μg/mL ZEN by 16 kGy EBI was 92.76%.

Author(s): Luísa Freire, Patrícia A.C. Braga, Marianna M. Furtado, Jeany Delafiori, Flávia L. Dias-Audibert, Giuliano E. Pereira, Felix G. Reyes, Rodrigo R. Catharino, Anderson S. Sant’Ana

Author(s): Gláucia M. Moreira, Camila P. Nicolli, Larissa B. Gomes, Cláudio Ogoshi, Klaus K. Scheuermann, Valácia L. da Silva Lobo, Daniel A. Schurt, Alberto Ritieni, Antonio Moretti, Ludwig H. Pfenning, Emerson M. Del Ponte

Knowledge of the genetic diversity detected among fungal species belonging to the genus Aspergillus is of key importance for explaining their important ecological role in the environment and agriculture. The current study aimed to identify Aspergillus species occurring in the rhizosphere of sugarcane in the South of Iran, and to investigate their mycotoxin profiles.

Mycotoxins are toxic fungal secondary metabolites that pose a major threat to the safety of food and feed. Mycotoxins are usually converted into less toxic or non-toxic metabolites through biotransformation that are often made by living organisms as well as the isolated enzymes. The conversions mainly include hydroxylation, oxidation, hydrogenation, de-epoxidation, methylation, glycosylation and glucuronidation, esterification, hydrolysis, sulfation, demethylation and deamination.

Author(s): Cui Tong, Peng Li, Li-Hui Yu, Lin Li, Kang Li, Yueli Chen, Shu-Hua Yang, Miao Long

Ruminants are generally considered to be less susceptible to the effects of mycotoxins than monogastric animals as the rumen microbiota are capable of detoxifying some of these toxins. Despite this potential degradation, mycotoxin-associated subclinical health problems are seen in dairy cows.

The estrogen-like mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEN) is one of the most widely distributed contaminants especially in maize and its commodities, such as corn oil. ZEN degrading enzymes possess the potential for counteracting the negative effect of ZEN and its associated high safety risk in corn oil.

Zearalenone and alternariol are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium and Alternaria species, respectively, that present estrogenic activity and consequently are classified as endocrine disruptors.

Fusarium proliferatum is a globally distributed fungal pathogen that affects a range of crop hosts and is one of the main producers of mycotoxins in foods such as fumonisins. Specific PCR primers are commonly used for detection and identification of this pathogen. The aim of this study was to validate previously published F.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the influence of harvesting time and meteorological conditions on the occurrence of Fusarium spp. and mycotoxins in the grain of spring cereals. A field experiment was performed in 2016–2018 in spring oat (Avena sativa L.) and spring triticale (× Triticosecale Wittm.) plots.

Species of the highly diverse fungal genus Aspergillus are well-known agricultural pests, and, most importantly, producers of various mycotoxins threatening food safety worldwide. Mycotoxins are studied predominantly from the perspectives of human and livestock health. Meanwhile, their roles are far less known in nature.

Pathogenic fungi must respond effectively to changes in environmental pH for successful host colonization, virulence and toxin production. Aspergillus carbonarius is a mycotoxigenic pathogen with the ability to colonize many plant hosts and secrete ochratoxin A (OTA). In this study, we characterized the functions and addressed the role of PacC-mediated pH signaling in A. carbonarius pathogenicity using designed pacC gene knockout mutant.