Health Risks Posed by the Consumption of Cooked Foods Prepared from Naturally Contaminated Corn

Objective 1. Compare the in vivo dose-response of fumonisin B1 to grain naturally contaminated with fumonisins or fumonisin-producing fungi. Objective 2. Determine the interactions between fumonisin exposure and dietary factors on fetal and postnatal development using animal models to provide basic information for ongoing translational human studies. Subobjective 2a. FBs as a risk factor for NTD with focus on how folates affect FB-dependent NTD induction in mice. Subobjective 2b. FBs and growth inhibition. Objective 3. Determine the efficacy of cooking methods to detoxify mycotoxins in co-contaminated corn using an in vivo rodent bioassay approach incorporating biomarkers.