Research Publications (Food Safety)

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.

Cannabidiol (CBD) food supplements made of Cannabis sativa L. extracts have quickly become popular products due to their health-promoting effects. However, potential contaminants, such as mycotoxins and pesticides, can be coextracted during the manufacturing process and placed into the final product.

Mycotoxins are an important class of pollutants that are toxic and hazardous to animal and human health. Consequently, various methods have been explored to abate their effects, among which adsorbent has found prominent application. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) has recently been applied for the concurrent evaluation of multiple mycotoxins.

Author(s): S.S. Zhai, D. Ruan, Y.W. Zhu, M.C. Li, H. Ye, W.C. Wang, L. Yang

Author(s): Abebe Ayelign, Sarah De Saeger

Mycotoxins produced by certain fungal species of the Fusarium genus are frequently found as contaminants in cereals and feedstuffs. Fumonisins (FBs), deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) are of special concern relative to animal health and productivity. The aim of this work was to analyse the levels of Fusarium mycotoxin contamination in samples of total mixed rations (TMRs) for dairy cows.

The mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEN), which frequently contaminates cereal-based human food and animal feed, is known to have an estrogenic effect. The biological response associated with exposure to ZEN has rarely been reported in organs other than the reproductive system. In the intestine, several studies suggested that ZEN might stimulate molecular changes related to the activation of early carcinogenesis, but the molecular mechanisms behind these events are not yet known.

Durian peel (DP) is an agricultural waste that is widely used in dyes and for organic and inorganic pollutant adsorption. In this study, durian peel was acid-treated to enhance its mycotoxin adsorption efficacy. The acid-treated durian peel (ATDP) was assessed for simultaneous adsorption of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), and fumonisin B1 (FB1).

Author(s): Hualin Yang, Qi Zhang, Xiaolei Liu Data analysis, Yuying Yang Data analysis, Yong Yang, Mingyuan Liu, Peiwu Li, Yu Zhou

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is an intrinsically fluorescent phenolic mycotoxin that contaminates a wide range of food products and is a serious health threat to animals and humans. An OTA binding aptamer (OTABA) that folds into an antiparallel G-quadruplex (GQ) in the absence and presence of target OTA has been incorporated into a vast variety of aptasensor platforms for OTA detection.

In this review, we present the current information on development and applications of biological control against phytopathogenic organisms as well as mycotoxigenic fungi in Malaysia as part of the integrated pest management (IPM) programs in a collective effort to achieve food security.

This study was conducted to investigate the exposure to ochratoxin A (OTA) of populations living in Nanjing, China. Plasma samples were collected from 147 healthy adults (age 18–63 years) and analyzed for OTA by a reliable and sensitive ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method (limit of detection 0.04 ng/mL).

Fungi-forming biofilm would produce various toxins in food. The toxin contamination will cause great harm to food and human health.

A novel microbial consortium (NZDC-6) was screened and characterized to detoxify the estrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEA), which commonly contaminates maize and is a major threat to food and health security. We found NZDC-6 to be thermophilic and highly effective, with a 90.3% ZEA degradation ratio at an optimum temperature of 60 °C. NZDC-6 was also effective at degrading the more estrogenic ZEA cognates, α-zearalenol (α-ZAL) and β-zearalenol (β-ZAL), with >90% degradation ratios.

Author(s): Sabrina de Oliveira Garcia, Karen Vanessa Marimón Sibaja, Wesclen Vilar Nogueira, Ana Carla Penteado Feltrin, Diean Fabiano Alvares Pinheiro, Maristela Barnes Rodrigues Cerqueira, Eliana Badiale Furlong, Jaqueline Garda-Buffon

Author(s): Janet Adebiyi, Eugenie Kayitesi, Patrick Njobeh

Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) has potential as an adjunct in brewing given its agronomic, chemical and technological properties. The aim of this work were to identify the cultivable microflora and evaluate the technological quality of the durum wheat variety ‘Senatore Cappelli’ grown and used by a craft brewery in Sardinia, Italy.

Beer is an alcoholic beverage made from a cereal grain extract and is widely consumed in sub‐Saharan Africa and the world at large. However, beer consumption could expose consumers to mycotoxins. In this review, we appraised the different mycotoxins associated with beer contamination, elucidating their structures and incidence in cereals involved in beer production. The common mycotoxins that are found within the brewing process are reviewed.

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

Standard solutions of mycotoxins prepared in RP HPLC solvents from neat standards are usually used for analytical method development. Multi-mycotoxin HPLC-MS/MS methods necessitate stability estimation for the wide spectrum of fungal metabolites. The stability of individual diluted stock standard solutions of mycotoxins in RP-HPLC solvents and multi-analyte HPLC-MS/MS calibrants was evaluated under standard storage and analysis conditions.