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Determination of aflatoxin levels in nuts and their products consumed in South Korea

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Abstract

A total of 85 nuts and their products marketed in South Korea were assessed for aflatoxins using a monitoring scheme consisting of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rapid screening, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for quantification and LC–mass spectrometry (MS) for confirmation. Thirty-one out of 85 samples gave ELISA readings above 0.06 and were screened as possible positive samples. Aflatoxin contents of possible positive samples were determined using HPLC with a detection limit of 0.08–1.25 μg/kg and a quantification limit of 0.15–2.50 μg/kg. Nine samples including 1 raw peanut, 4 roasted peanuts, 2 peanut butters, 1 pistachio and 1 seasoned assorted nut were contaminated with aflatoxins (10.6% of incidence), ranging in various levels up to 28.2 μg/kg. LC–MS analysis on contaminated samples revealed that peaks eluting at 4.4, 5.2, 9.1 and 11.9 min were confirmed as aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin G2 and aflatoxin B2, respectively.

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... These include C 18 and C 8 for nonpolar compounds, florisil for polar compounds, ion-exchange cartridges like propyl sulfonic acid (PRS), and additional adsorbents like immunoaffinity columns (IACs) and Oasis HLB [1,41,42]. In many studies, C 18 cartridge was used for nut extraction prior to mycotoxin analysis using techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [35,50,55,60,61]. Immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) uses antigen-antibody interaction to separate and purify mycotoxins from complex samples, including nuts [41,42]. ...
... Commercial ELISA kits are available for various mycotoxins, including aflatoxins AFs, ZEA, OTA, DON, T2/HT2, and FBs [1,41]. ELISA kit has become an indispensable tool for researchers studying the prevalence of mycotoxins in nuts [31,33,35,36]. ...
... Therefore, several studies have used the ELISA test for rapid screening of mycotoxins in nut samples, and the results were then confirmed by chromatographic techniques such as HPLC and LC-MS. Chun et al. [35] conducted a study analyzing 85 nuts and nut products for aflatoxins, utilizing both ELISA and HPLC techniques. After ELISA screening, 31 samples were identified as positive for aflatoxins. ...
Article
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Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced as secondary metabolites by certain types of filamentous fungi under specific conditions. The contamination of nuts and nut-related products with mycotoxins is a significant global concern due to their severe consequences on human health, including carcinogenicity and immunosuppression. Aflatoxins, with a particular emphasis on aflatoxin B1, are the most common and toxic mycotoxins found in human food. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is known to be highly toxic and carcinogenic. Consequently, global food regulatory organizations have established permissible levels for mycotoxins in nuts. Numerous methodologies have been developed for the detection of mycotoxins in nuts. However, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) have shown clear benefits in terms of effectiveness and sensitivity. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the major mycotoxins found in nuts, their physiological effects, and their worldwide prevalence. Additionally, the review will focus on nut sample pretreatment methods, analytical techniques employed for mycotoxin detection in nuts, and recent advancements in materials and solvents used for this purpose. Significant gaps exist in mycotoxin detection in nuts, including methodological variability and insufficient data from certain nut-producing countries that need further exploration in the future.
... The linearity was determined and a calibration curve was created with AFB1 standards across 5 varying concentrations, ranging from 0 to 10 µg/kg to calculate the coefficient of determination (R 2 ). The detection limit (LOD) and quantification limit (LOQ) were assessed based on signal-to-noise ratios of 3:1 for LOD and 6:1 for LOQ, respectively [30,31]. The accuracy of the HPLC was confirmed through recovery tests, which involved spiking AFB1 concentrations of 2, 5, and 10 µg/kg into three types of nuts prior to extraction [30]. ...
... ELISA analysis offers a practical approach for concurrently detecting contaminants in numerous samples efficiently and cost-effectively. However, it lacks the accurate quantification of contaminants due to potential sample matrix effects and the risk of overestimating contaminants at very low concentrations [31]. In addition, there is a risk of false-positive outcomes in ELISA tests because of the cross-reactivity of antibodies [7]. ...
Article
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This study examines the prevalence of aflatoxin contamination in 160 nut samples, both shelled and unshelled (including pistachios, peanuts, and walnuts), from the Lebanese market, focusing on their fungal contamination and specific toxigenic strains. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), known for its potent carcinogenic and immunosuppressive properties, was detected in various samples. Moisture content analysis showed that unshelled nuts often exceeded maximum moisture limits more frequently than shelled nuts, with levels ranging from 1.9 to 9.5%. The predominant fungal genus identified through cultivation on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates was Aspergillus. In total, 55% of samples were contaminated with A. flavus and 45% with A. niger. All toxigenic strains isolated were identified as Aspergillus flavus. The aflatoxins, particularly AFB1, were quantified using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), revealing contamination in 43.8% of the samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 25 µg/kg. Some samples notably exceeded the established maximum tolerable limits (MTLs) for AFB1, set between 2 and 8 µg/kg. Shelled pistachios showed the highest contamination rate at 52% and were the most frequent to surpass the MTL of 8 µg/kg for pistachios, whereas walnuts displayed the lowest contamination levels, with only 15.4% exceeding the MTL for aflatoxins.
... Aflatoxins can cause many health risks as they are carcinogenic and can cause both acute and chronic toxicity (Wild and Gong, 2010). Aflatoxins contamination had been confirmed in many kinds of nuts in many countries such as; South Korea, Malaysia, Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran (Chun et al., 2007, Leong et al., 2010, Luttfullah and Hussain, 2011, Deabes and Al-Habib, 2011, Dini, 2013. This contamination depends on several factors during pre-and post-harvest stages, such as water availability, plant nutrition, temperature, humidity, oxygen, carbon dioxide, insects, rodents infestation, fungal infection, transportation method, drying process, storage conditions, and storage period (Saleemullah et al., 2006, Embaby, 2012, Georgiadou et al., 2012, Fani et al., 2013. ...
... These results are agree with Jelinek et al. (1989) who noticed that almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts are considered at lower risk of aflatoxins contamination. Also Chun et al. (2007) in South Korea reported that walnuts are free from AFs compared to pistachio, peanuts and peanut products. In Qatar, Abdulkadar et al. (2000) reported that collected nut samples of in-shell almonds, shell-less almonds, shell-less walnuts and in-shell hazelnuts were free from AFs, while they detected contamination in pistachio and peanuts. ...
... Mycotoxins, mostly produced by Aspergillus species, are considered to be very important natural toxins because moulds can be found almost everywhere and can develop their toxins in many foodstuffs and animal feeds from the field until consumed (Pohland, 1993;Shukla, 2016). These microorganisms generate various types of toxic metabolites and the major ones known as aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) and aflatoxin (AFG2) (Chun et al., 2007;Shukla, 2016). These four aflatoxin groups were classified as group 1 carcinogens by the international agency for research on cancer (IARC, 1993). ...
... ELISA method have advantages over other methods of aflatoxin detection due to its properties such as low cost, simplicity, the use of safe reagents, determination of contaminant in a large number of samples in a shorter time, and high precision results (Chun et al., 2007;Reza et al., 2012). In Turkey, the upper limit of aflatoxin acceptable for walnut according to the Turkish Food Codex is 8 µg/kg for AFB1 and 15 µg/kg for AFT (TGK, 2011). ...
... Mycotoxins, mostly produced by Aspergillus species, are considered to be very important natural toxins because moulds can be found almost everywhere and can develop their toxins in many foodstuffs and animal feeds from the field until consumed (Pohland, 1993;Shukla, 2016). These microorganisms generate various types of toxic metabolites and the major ones known as aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) and aflatoxin (AFG2) (Chun et al., 2007;Shukla, 2016). These four aflatoxin groups were classified as group 1 carcinogens by the international agency for research on cancer (IARC, 1993). ...
... ELISA method have advantages over other methods of aflatoxin detection due to its properties such as low cost, simplicity, the use of safe reagents, determination of contaminant in a large number of samples in a shorter time, and high precision results (Chun et al., 2007;Reza et al., 2012). In Turkey, the upper limit of aflatoxin acceptable for walnut according to the Turkish Food Codex is 8 µg/kg for AFB1 and 15 µg/kg for AFT (TGK, 2011). ...
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Aflatoxins are carcinogenic toxic metabolites for human foods and animal feeds in terms of pharmaceutical produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. This study was carried out to determine the aflatoxin changes in Şebinkarahisar walnut under different seasonal changes between the years by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The presence of aflatoxin was found in all of the samples within measurable limits. But in none of the total 20 different walnut samples examined, aflatoxin was not observed above the limits determined by the Turkish Food Codex Contaminants Regulation. Each treatment included 3 wells were carried out triplicates to determination of AFT and AFB1 and correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between AFB1 and AFT for 2 different years. In addition, although there was an increase in aflatoxin content due to seasonal changes between the years, there was no statistically significant difference and it was supported by correlation analysis.
... Aflatoxin analysis is challenging because of the generally low concentrations at which they occur and the complexity of the food matrices, and is generally achieved by solvent extraction followed by the use of immunoaffinity columns [6,7] and high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence (HPLC-FLD) [4] or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) [1]. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) can also be used for detecting aflatoxins [8,9]. Nevertheless, these methods are costly and the former is also time consuming and requires the use of hazardous solvents. ...
... The European Union has established the lowest limits for aflatoxins, allowing 2 and 4 µg·kg -1 of aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxins, respectively, in cereals for direct human consumption [21]. Elsewhere, MTLs for aflatoxin B1 vary from 5 µg‧kg -1 in Russia to 10 µg‧kg -1 in China, Japan, and Korea; limits for total aflatoxins are 20 µg‧kg -1 in the United States and 30 µg‧kg -1 in Brazil and India [6,8,22]. Therefore, the LODs and LOQs reported here are low enough to allow the application of the proposed method in several major countries including the US, China and India, although further increase in sensitivity would be necessary to allow its application in Europe. ...
Article
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This study presents the determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 in rice, applying a QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). The objective of the proposed method is a fast, inexpensive, and easy analysis of aflatoxins. The aflatoxins were separated on a C18 column by isocratic elution with water: methanol: acetonitrile (65: 25: 10, v/v/v), and detection was achieved at excitation/emission wavelengths of 360/450 nm, without derivatization. The calibration curves showed good linearity (R² > 0.99), and the limits of detection and quantification were ≤ 6 and ≤ 8 µg·kg⁻¹, respectively. Average intraday and interday recoveries were in the range 104-119 % and 104-113 % with RSD % ≤ 12 % for concentrations between 6-20 µg·kg⁻¹. The proposed method was tested on rice samples sold on markets, of which none exhibited presence of aflatoxins. © 2018 ALMA MATER Publishing House, “VASILE ALECSANDRI” University of Bacău. All rights reserved.
... In a survey which worked on raw peanut kernels in Malaysia, Arzandeh et al. (2010) (13) reported that 78.57% of the samples were contaminated with aflatoxin, that 10.71% overpassed the maximums acceptable limit of 15 ng g -1 set by the Codex. In a study, Chun et al. (2007) (14) showed AFB 1 contamination with concentration of 0.2 ng g -1 in 25% of raw peanuts in South Korea and 20-200 ng g -1 in peanut samples in Argentina and Senegal. On the other hand, there are some studies on roasted peanuts. ...
... In a survey which worked on raw peanut kernels in Malaysia, Arzandeh et al. (2010) (13) reported that 78.57% of the samples were contaminated with aflatoxin, that 10.71% overpassed the maximums acceptable limit of 15 ng g -1 set by the Codex. In a study, Chun et al. (2007) (14) showed AFB 1 contamination with concentration of 0.2 ng g -1 in 25% of raw peanuts in South Korea and 20-200 ng g -1 in peanut samples in Argentina and Senegal. On the other hand, there are some studies on roasted peanuts. ...
Article
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Introduction: Aflatoxins (AFs) are a group of mycotoxins created as metabolic items for the most part by three types of Aspergillus including Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and the uncommon Aspergillus nomius. Eighteen aflatoxins have been identified up to now, but only six of them have been found in food and feed. Methods: The occurrence of aflatoxins in 32 samples of roasted red skin peanut was determined using HPLC with a Chromolith column. All samples were purchased from retail shops and local markets in Mashhad city. The method was based on the extraction of samples and aflatoxins determination after postcolumn derivatization by Kobra Cell and fluorescence detection at excitation and emission wavelengths of 365 and 435 nm, respectively. Results: Mean levels of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2 and total aflatoxins were found to be 57.17, 2.56, 12.51, 1.42 and 85.16 ng g-1, respectively. Aflatoxins B1 (AFB1) was detected in 12 samples (37.5%) with a mean value of 57.17 ± 90.32 ng g-1 and a maximum level of 243.61 ng g-1. AFB1 levels exceeded Iran maximum tolerate limit (5 ng/g) in 7 out of 32 peanut samples. 21.8% of these peanut samples exceeded the maximum tolerate limit set for total aflatoxins by codex and Iran (15 ng g-1). Conclusion: According to the obtained results, more effort is needed to control aflatoxin levels in Mashhad’s peanut. This survey provides valuable information on aflatoxin contamination in peanut products marketed in Iran as well.
... The mycotoxin aflatoxin is known to be a potent carcinogen [2]. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set action levels (levels where the FDA will take legal action to remove products from the market) of 20 ppb (µg/kg) for the sum total of the four aflotoxins in foods such as corn, peanuts, brazil nuts, and pistachios as well as other foods [10][11][12][13][14][15]. ...
... The traditional method for aflatoxins analysis in grains includes soxhlet extraction, sample clean-up using solidphase extraction (SPE), and separation, identification, and quantification using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Because of the time-consuming extraction and clean-up steps, sample throughput is limited using this technique [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. The structural formula for the aflatoxins is as shown in fig.1. ...
Article
Aflatoxins are mycotoxins, structurally related compounds produced as secondary metabolites by Aspergillus molds, primarily flavus and parasiticus. Aflatoxins occur naturally in peanuts, cottonseed, corn, and dried chili pepper, as well as many mixed or processed foods and feeds. A simple, sensitive, and robust HPLC method with post-column derivatization and Ultraviolet detection was used to analyze Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 in ground peanuts. Although more than a dozen aflatoxins exist, the four major toxins of interest are B 1 , B 2 , G 1 and G 2 . They are designated according to their absorption properties in the UV region of the spectrum. Aflatoxin B 1 and B 2 emit radiation corresponding to blue wavelength , while G 1 and G 2 emit yellow-green wavelength. The extracts were cleaned using Solid Phase Extraction method (SPE) preferably over Immuno affinity columns (IAC) as the former give better recovery of aflatoxins than the latter one even with most challenging matrices and other methods like Soxhlet extraction and Accelerated Solvent Extraction. Further no interferences were found to be present after the cleanup of the sample matrix.
... In South Korea, the levels of peanuts a atoxin B1, was detected in the range of 0.2-28.0 µg/kg (Chun et al., 2007) which was comparable with Azezo and Tseda. However, the a atoxinB1 concentration in Arada sampling site was exceeding. ...
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The study aimed to detect the level of aflatoxin contamination and risk assessment of aflatoxins. A total of eighteen roasted peanut samples were collected and analyses in different area of Gondar City. The aflatoxin was extracted from peanut with (Acetonitrile: Methanol: Water (15: 25: 60) and the analyses were performed using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography detector method. From the result, A good linearity of standard calibration was found for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 at a range of 0.2–50 ppb. Regression coefficient (R ² ) values were >0.996. The average recoveries for spiked sample were ranged from 81.83 to 108.16% and Limit of detection and quantification ranged from (0.138 - 0.6 ppb), (0.46 - 2.0 ppb), respectively. The determined aflatoxin contamination levels in roasted peanut samples ranged from 2.6± 0.081-246.42± 0.082, 0.64± 0.012-23.41±0.016, 9.02± 0.008-156.10± 0.041, 1.49± 0.048 -19.25± 0.04 μg/kg for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, respectively. Moreover, the total amount of aflatoxin detected ranged from 14.05μg/Kg to 445.18μg/Kg. All the analyzed samples exceeded tolerance limit of European Union,(recommended maximum limit of 4μg/kg. Hence, US Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization tolerance limit 20 μg/kg of aflatoxin total. The Estimated Daily Intakes (EDI) of the total aflatoxins in the peanut samples was 0.531, 0.299 and 0.229μg/Kgbw/day for children, adolescents, and adults respectively. For the Margin of Exposure (MOE), values of 753.3, 1337.8 and 1746.7 were recorded respectively. The average potency of the aflatoxins was 0.00825 ng Aflatoxins/kgbw/day and produced a population risk of 4.4 × 10 ⁻³ , 2.5 × 10 ⁻³ and 1.9 × 10 ⁻³ respectively. In this study, a probable menace for cancer was projected at 0.0019− 0.0044 cancers per year per 100,000 person’s health among some community in Gondar, Ethiopia that could be harmed by aflatoxins in toxication via consumption of peanuts and products with an estimated daily intake (EDI) of 0.087 ng/kg bw/day of peanuts in a Gondar, Ethiopia population.
... The G-series AFs, on the other hand, are six-membered lactones that glow yellow-green, when exposed to UV light, hence the B and G names (Bennett and Klich, 2003). Aflatoxin G2 and B2 are congeners of Aflatoxins G1 and B1 that lack the 8, 9-double bond in the furan ring and are consequently only found in pairs (Chun et al., 2007). Aflatoxins M1 and M2 are blue-violet fluorescent metabolic products of B1 and B2 that are commonly seen in urine and milk of animals fed AFB1-contaminated meals. ...
Article
Aflatoxins are a family of poisonous, mutagenic, and carcinogenic mycotoxins that contaminate a wide range of foods and agricultural goods. Aspergillus species, such as Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus parasiticus are the most common producers. Aflatoxin generation can occur at any point of the food chain, including pre-harvest, drying, storage, transit, processing, and handling, if conditions are favourable for fungus to create toxins. It is classified into six main types which are Aflatoxin B1, Aflatoxin B2, Aflatoxin G1, Aflatoxin G2, Aflatoxin M1 and Aflatoxin M2. In Nigeria, Aspergillus species that produces aflatoxin has been isolated from agricultural products such as cereals, spices, locally fermented food, oil-seeds, and animal products. Aflatoxin contamination is high due to poor storage of food crops and lack of awareness of aflatoxins contamination among farmers, marketers and the consumers of these goods. Locally fermented foods such as ogiri, ugba, ogi-baba, and iru have been said to be contaminated by aflatoxin. Preventive measures should be carried out by the policy-making bodies to create awareness and sustain ongoing measures to effectively manage aflatoxin contamination in Nigeria so as to reduce the health risk of aflatoxins on the people and economy of the country.
... The B-aflatoxins, the pentanone derivatives exhibit strong blue fluorescence under ultraviolet light while the G series (six-membered lactones) fluorescence yellow-green on thin-layer chromatography plates, thus the B and G naming [7,8]. Aflatoxin B2 and G2 are dihydroxy derivatives of aflatoxin B1 and G1 and other aflatoxins are not usually reported in the absence of aflatoxin B1 [9]. The M aflatoxins (M1 and M2) are also derivatives of B series that exhibit blue-violet fluorescence and have been reported in milk products of animals fed on aflatoxin contaminated foods hence designation M [10]. ...
Article
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Maize and groundnuts are traditional nutrient-rich and high economic value foods grown in Uganda. However, these crops are susceptible to aflatoxin contamination which may result into aflatoxicosis related illnesses. Occurrence of flatoxins in the foods varies across food value chains, gender and agro-ecological zones of Uganda. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study in 80 maize and groundnut foodstuff from Masindi and Soroti agro-ecological districts respectively. We determined levels of total aflatoxins in maize and groundnut samples across food value chains, gender and agro-ecological zones. This was aimed at assessing safety and quality status of the foods in Uganda. Questionnaires were administered to obtain information on food handling practices. 500g of each food sample were obtained and analyzed for total aflatoxin levels using ELISA assay. Data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. In overall, 45% of maize and 30% of groundnut foods were contaminated with aflatoxins. Mean aflatoxin levels in foods from Eastern and Western agro-ecological zones were 0.052±0.036ppb and 0.045±0.033ppb respectively (p=0.124). Mean aflatoxin levels in groundnuts from both male and female respondents were coincidentally 0.052ppb. Whereas, the mean aflatoxin levels in maize from male and female respondents were 0.056±0.037ppb and 0.039±0.029ppb respectively. Across the food value chain, wholesaler groundnut foods contained the highest mean aflatoxin levels of 0.088ppb (p= 0.27). Growing high polyamine containing crops, routine testing of aflatoxin prone foods and sensitizing food value chain players are important aflatoxin control strategies.
... B-aflatoxins (the pentanone derivatives) exhibit strong blue fluorescence under ultraviolet light while G aflatoxins (six-membered lactones) fluorescence yellow-green on thin-layer chromatography plates, thus the B and G naming [5]. Aflatoxin B2 and G2 are dihydroxy derivatives of af-latoxin B1 and G1 respectively [6]. The M aflatoxins (M1 and M2) are also derivatives of B series that exhibit blue-violet fluorescence and have been reported in milk products of animals fed on aflatoxin contaminated foods hence designation M [7]. ...
Article
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Background: Maize and groundnuts are some of the most highly contaminated foods on the Ugandan market. Since 2006 there have been some scattered studies on the prevalence of aflatoxin contamination among these grains. However, there were no recent studies of 2022 to highlight the status of aflatoxin contamination. Methods: Grain samples were collected from two highest producing districts that is Masindi and Soroti districts; and across the value chain, from farmers to wholesalers, retailers, processors and restaurants/homes. The samples were tested using ELISA method and the prevalence calculated. Results: Aflatoxins were detected in 45% and 30% of maize and groundnuts, respectively. Contamination increases over the value chain from 31% at farm level, to 42% at table level. In general, contamination was highest among processors at 43%, followed by restaurants (42%), wholesalers (40%), farmers (31%) and retailers at 29%. Keywords: Aflatoxins; Prevalence; Maize; Corn; Groundnuts; Gnuts; Uganda; Value Chain
... Aflatoxins B type are pentanone derivatives, displays the blue fluorescence under the ultraviolet light but in aflatoxins G type are six membrane lactone and they give the green-yellow fluorescence on the thin layer chromatography film [32,33]. AFB1 and AFG1 are major aflatoxins and other are derived from them such as AFB2 and AFG2 and these are dihydroxy derivatives of the AFB1 and AFG1 and the other type of the aflatoxins are present in food and feed when the AFB1 is present in it [34]. The other type of the aflatoxin is aflatoxin M. It is a derived from the AFB1 and it is present into the dairy products such as milk of animals and it give the blue-violet fluorescence in thin layer chromatography [35,36]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Aflatoxins are the carcinogenic, mutagenic and highly toxic secondary metabolite, which is produced by two species of fungus such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus mostly. These two types of fungus contaminate the cereals crops such as maize, cotton, rice and spices. These are naturally occurring toxins all over the world. There are 20 different types of aflatoxins but out of six have significance importance for instance, AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, AFM1 and AFM2. Most commonly, AFB1 and AFB2 are present in the maize crops and M1 and M2 present in the milk and dairy products. Even the small amounts of aflatoxins, which may cause the harmful effects in human and liver stocks. They cause many acute, subacute and chronic diseases such as hepatic carcinoma in human. Aflatoxins can pose a significant economic burden. It caused up to 25-30 % approximately destroy the crops all over. Aflatoxicosis detection from the humans as well as animals is very tough because variation may occur, or sign and symptoms may be change due to the suppressor of immune system that cause many chronic diseases. These aflatoxins are determined and analyzed by the many techniques such as chromatographic techniques mostly HPLC, immunoassays, fluorescence spectroscopy and many biosensors which are very essential to check the quality, quantity and concentration of aflatoxins present in food and feeds. So that, there are many methods to limit the growth of aflatoxins from the grain in pre-harvest, during harvest and post-harvest conditions or also control the environmental conditions and managed the proper storages of the grains that may diminish the aflatoxins levels. Furthermore, they are many techniques and biological control methods are used to control the growth and activities of fungus species that cause the toxicity in food and feeds and protect the grains for the uses of human and animals.
... Aflatoxins B type are pentanone derivatives, displays the blue fluorescence under the ultraviolet light but in aflatoxins G type are six membrane lactone and they give the green-yellow fluorescence on the thin layer chromatography film [32,33]. AFB1 and AFG1 are major aflatoxins and other are derived from them such as AFB2 and AFG2 and these are dihydroxy derivatives of the AFB1 and AFG1 and the other type of the aflatoxins are present in food and feed when the AFB1 is present in it [34]. The other type of the aflatoxin is aflatoxin M. It is a derived from the AFB1 and it is present into the dairy products such as milk of animals and it give the blue-violet fluorescence in thin layer chromatography [35,36]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Aflatoxins are the carcinogenic, mutagenic and highly toxic secondary metabolite, which is produced by two species of fungus such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus mostly. These two types of fungus contaminate the cereals crops such as maize, cotton, rice and spices. These are naturally occurring toxins all over the world. There are 20 different types of aflatoxins but out of six have significance importance for instance, AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, AFM1 and AFM2. Most commonly, AFB1 and AFB2 are present in the maize crops and M1 and M2 present in the milk and dairy products. Even the small amounts of aflatoxins, which may cause the harmful effects in human and liver stocks. They cause many acute, subacute and chronic diseases such as hepatic carcinoma in human. Aflatoxins can pose a significant economic burden. It caused up to 25-30 % approximately destroy the crops all over. Aflatoxicosis detection from the humans as well as animals is very tough because variation may occur, or sign and symptoms may be change due to the suppressor of immune system that cause many chronic diseases. These aflatoxins are determined and analyzed by the many techniques such as chromatographic techniques mostly HPLC, immunoassays, fluorescence spectroscopy and many biosensors which are very essential to check the quality, quantity and concentration of aflatoxins present in food and feeds. So that, there are many methods to limit the growth of aflatoxins from the grain in pre-harvest, during harvest and post-harvest conditions or also control the environmental conditions and managed the proper storages of the grains that may diminish the aflatoxins levels. Furthermore, they are many techniques and biological control methods are used to control the growth and activities of fungus species that cause the toxicity in food and feeds and protect the grains for the uses of human and animals.
... Aflatoxins (AFTs), a class of mycotoxins, are toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced by A. flavus, A. parasiticus, and the rare A. nomius [1]. Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ), aflatoxin B 2 (AFB 2 ), aflatoxin G 1 (AFG 1 ), and aflatoxin G 2 (AFG 2 ) are the common AFTs [2], and AFB 1 presents hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, and nephrotoxic in humans and animals [3][4][5]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IAMC) listed AFB 1 as a Group I carcinogen [6]. ...
Article
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Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a mycotoxin, is hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, and nephrotoxic in humans and animals, and contaminate a wide range of maize. In this study, an immunochromatographic assay (ICA) based on polystyrene microspheres (PMs) was developed for sensitive and quantitative detection of AFB1 in maize. The amounts of PMs, the condition for activating carboxyl groups of PMs, the amount of monoclonal antibody (mAb), and the volume of the immune probe were optimized to enhance the performance PMs-ICA for point-of-care testing of AFB1 in maize. The PMs-ICA showed the cut-off value of 1 ng/mL in phosphate buffer (PB) and 6 µg/kg in maize samples, respectively. The quantitative limit of detection (qLOD) was 0.27 and 1.43 µg/kg in PB and maize samples, respectively. The accuracy and precision of the PMs-ICA were evaluated by analysis of spiked maize samples with recoveries of 96.0% to 107.6% with coefficients of variation below 10%. In addition, the reliability of PMs-ICA was confirmed by the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. The results indicated that the PMs-ICA could be used as a sensitive, simple, rapid point-of-care testing of AFB1 in maize.
... Estudios realizados por Kim et al., (2007), señalan que en la evaluación de108 muestras de leche pasteurizada para los niños, leche en polvo y yogurt recogidas de Seúl y Corea, las incidencias de contaminación con aflatoxina M1 fueron de 76, 75 y 83% respectivamente, con una concentración media de 0.018; 0.046; 0.0200 a 0.029 ppb En muchos casos es importante la verificación y evaluación continua de los diferentes ingredientes utilizados en la dieta de las diferentes especies animales e incluso en los que se consumen en la dieta humana; en estudio realizado por Peña et al., (2015) determinaron que en un alimento no necesariamente se puede observar macroscópicamente el contenido de micotoxinas; ya que al evaluar en contenido de diferentes maíces que se cultivan en México, determinaron una alta positividad a micotoxinas del tipo G1, G2 y B1, por lo cual es imperante el valorar todos aquellos lotes de alimentos o ingredientes que puedan ser sospechosos o de interés para los productores, con la finalidad de prevenir pérdidas por el deceso o el mal desempeño productivo de las diferentes especies animales. ...
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Resumen M1 (AFM1) en leche, se colectaron 84 muestras en diferentes unidades de producción lechera del Estado de México; y en diferentes temporadas (de secas y de lluvias). La determinación del analito se realizó a través de la prueba de ELISA, con el kit RIDASCREEN Aflatoxin M1®, y los resultados se expresan en forma descriptiva comparándose con valores de referencia. De las muestras analizadas, el 45% fueron positivas. Al establecer diferentes rangos de concentraciones, se observó a cuatro muestras con un nivel de 0.001 < 0.002; cuarenta y dos en el rango de 0.003 >0.044; y, treinta y ocho en el rango de 0.50 >0.080. Al obtener 42 muestras por temporada, 37 (0.075 ± 0.010 ppt) fueron positivas a AFM1 en el periodo de Agosto a Febrero del 2017, mientras que de Marzo a Octubre del 2018, solo una muestra fue positiva (con un nivel de 0.060 ppt). La AFM1 presente en la leche es un factor de riesgo para los consumidores e incluso para el ganado, por lo cual las medidas en la producción y almacenamiento de forrajes y granos deben valorarse antes, durante y después de la alimentación del ganado. Aflatoxina M1, Leche, ELISA Resumen Aiming to determine the presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk, 84 samples were collected in different milk production units from Mexico State; in different seasons (dry and rainy). The analyte was determined by ELISA test, with the RIDASCREEN Aflatoxin M1® kit, results were expressed descriptively and compared with reference values. From the analyzed samples, 45% were positive. When establishing different concentration ranges, four samples were observed with a level of 0.001 <0.002; forty-two in the range of 0.003> 0.044; and, thirty-eight in the range of 0.50> 0.080. When obtaining 42 samples per season, 37 (0.075 ± 0.010 ppt) were positive for AFM1 in the period from
... Estudios realizados por Kim et al., (2007), señalan que en la evaluación de108 muestras de leche pasteurizada para los niños, leche en polvo y yogurt recogidas de Seúl y Corea, las incidencias de contaminación con aflatoxina M1 fueron de 76, 75 y 83% respectivamente, con una concentración media de 0.018; 0.046; 0.0200 a 0.029 ppb En muchos casos es importante la verificación y evaluación continua de los diferentes ingredientes utilizados en la dieta de las diferentes especies animales e incluso en los que se consumen en la dieta humana; en estudio realizado por Peña et al., (2015) determinaron que en un alimento no necesariamente se puede observar macroscópicamente el contenido de micotoxinas; ya que al evaluar en contenido de diferentes maíces que se cultivan en México, determinaron una alta positividad a micotoxinas del tipo G1, G2 y B1, por lo cual es imperante el valorar todos aquellos lotes de alimentos o ingredientes que puedan ser sospechosos o de interés para los productores, con la finalidad de prevenir pérdidas por el deceso o el mal desempeño productivo de las diferentes especies animales. ...
Article
Aiming to determine the presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk, 84 samples were collected in different milk production units from Mexico State; in different seasons (dry and rainy). The analyte was determined by ELISA test, with the RIDASCREEN Aflatoxin M1® kit, results were expressed descriptively and compared with reference values. From the analyzed samples, 45% were positive. When establishing different concentration ranges, four samples were observed with a level of 0.001 <0.002; forty-two in the range of 0.003> 0.044; and, thirty-eight in the range of 0.50> 0.080. When obtaining 42 samples per season, 37 (0.075 ± 0.010 ppt) were positive for AFM1 in the period from August to February 2017, while from March to October 2018, only one sample was positive (with a level of 0.060 ppt). The AFM1 present in milk is a risk factor for consumers and livestock as well, therefore, measures in the production and storage of fodder and grains should be assessed before, during and after feeding the cattle.
... On the other hand, the G-series AFs are six-membered lactones that fluoresce yellow-green under UV light and thus the B and G nomenclature [2,18]. Aflatoxin G 2 and B 2 are congeners of G 1 and B 1 which lack the 8,9-double bond in the furan ring and therefore usually only encountered in tandem with the latter [19]. Aflatoxins M 1 and M 2 are metabolic derivatives of B 1 and B 2 that exhibit blue-violet fluorescence and are usually detected in urine and milk of animals served AFB 1 -contaminated rations [20,21]. ...
Article
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Aflatoxins are endemic in Kenya. The 2004 outbreak of acute aflatoxicosis in the country was one of the unprecedented epidemics of human aflatoxin poisoning recorded in mycotoxin history. In this study, an elaborate review was performed to synthesize Kenya’s major findings in relation to aflatoxins, their prevalence, detection, quantification, exposure assessment, prevention, and management in various matrices. Data retrieved indicate that the toxins are primarily biosynthesized by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, with the eastern part of the country reportedly more aflatoxin-prone. Aflatoxins have been reported in maize and maize products (Busaa, chan’gaa, githeri, irio, muthokoi, uji, and ugali), peanuts and its products, rice, cassava, sorghum, millet, yams, beers, dried fish, animal feeds, dairy and herbal products, and sometimes in tandem with other mycotoxins. The highest total aflatoxin concentration of 58,000 μg/kg has been reported in maize. At least 500 acute human illnesses and 200 deaths due to aflatoxins have been reported. The causes and prevalence of aflatoxins have been grossly ascribed to poor agronomic practices, low education levels, and inadequate statutory regulation and sensitization. Low diet diversity has aggravated exposure to aflatoxins in Kenya because maize as a dietetic staple is aflatoxin-prone. Detection and surveillance are only barely adequate, though some exposure assessments have been conducted. There is a need to widen diet diversity as a measure of reducing exposure due to consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated foods.
... In another study conducted by Aycicek et al. (2005) among 40 cacao hazelnut cream and 51 dehulled hazelnut samples AFB 1 existence was reported in 39 and 43 samples of cacao hazelnut cream and dehulled hazelnut with level of <1 to 13 ng g -1 and <1 to 10 ng g -1 , respectively. Chun et al. (2007) validated 85 samples positive for AFs in nuts and nut products, where ELISA used for rapid screening and HPLC for further quantification. For AFB 1 the LOD was 0.08-1.25 ng g -1 and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.15-2.50 ...
Article
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Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1) is an Aspergillus spp. produced mycotoxins which is identified as one of the key contaminant of feeds and toxic to some degree to all species tested to date. Because of its hepatocarcinogenic nature, AFB 1 has obtained significant attention in past few years. A number of analytical, diagnostic and immunological procedures are available for assessment and estimation of AFB 1 in different feeds such as enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and electrochemical immunosensors (ECI). All available analytical methods for determination of AFB 1 principally included the same steps like, sampling, sample preparation, detection, confirmation, and finally risk assessment. HPLC approaches are most commonly used nowadays because of their high accuracy, precision and sensitivity. Since late 20 th century, many countries including Turkey has imposed strict rules and regulations regarding AFB 1 in food and animal feed related industry to protect the consumer from the detrimental effects of the toxin. In this article, a number of analytical techniques for determination of AFB 1 in feeds and feedstuffs starting from sampling to risk assessment and international regulations are reviewed.
... Limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were calculated by adding standard solution of mycotoxins into samples with decreasing concentrations, and then subject to extraction and quantification to measure the lowest detectable concentration (LOD) and the lowest quantifiable concentration (LOQ). Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) was calculated to express the precision according to the repeatability of the recovery experiments for each concentration (0, 0.5, and 1.0 µg/kg) [31][32][33]. ...
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Background: In Jordan as in other worldwide countries, mycotoxins are considered a serious national problem in food supplies. As a result, almost all nations are setting and adopting different regulations targeting the control of mycotoxins levels in the domestic food supply, including the problem of reliable sampling and analysis methods. Objective: It is necessary to improve and give evidence of analytical abilities of laboratories within Jordan and developing countries enabling them to monitor mycotoxins effectively in food to overcome non-tariff obstacles. Methods: We analyzed 40 samples from wheat, corn, dried fig and dried coffee beans for total aflatoxin content using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Enzyme Linked Immunesorbent Assay (ELISA) methods. Results: 40% of samples from wheat, 60% from corn, 30% from dried fig, and 50% from dried coffee beans were found positive when speaking of total aflatoxins, with average values between 1.14 and 4.12 μg/kg. Obtained results allow considering all tested food samples as fit for human consumption if compared with the labeled regulatory limit of allowed aflatoxins in the European Union. In detail, the limit of detection and the limit of quantification for methods used in this study were significantly lower than the maximum limits established by the European Union. Highlights: The procedure used in this study is suitable for detection of mycotoxins at very low concentration.
... e B-aflatoxins, typically pentanone derivatives, exhibit strong blue fluorescence under ultraviolet light while the G-series (six-membered lactones) fluoresce yellow-green on thin-layer chromatography plates, thus the B and G designations [12,13]. AFB 2 and AFG 2 are dihydroxy derivatives of AFB 1 and AFG 1 , and the other AFs are not usually reported in the absence of AFB 1 [14]. e M series are toxic metabolic derivatives of the B series that exhibit blue-violet fluorescence and have been reported in the milk of animals fed with AF-contaminated feed [15,16], hence the designation M [9,12,[17][18][19]. ...
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Uganda is an agrarian country where farming employs more than 60% of the population. Aflatoxins remain a scourge in the country, unprecedentedly reducing the nutritional and economic value of agricultural foods. This review was sought to synthetize the country’s major findings in relation to the mycotoxins’ etiology, epidemiology, detection, quantification, exposure assessment, control, and reduction in different matrices. Electronic results indicate that aflatoxins in Uganda are produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and have been reported in maize, sorghum, sesame, beans, sunflower, millet, peanuts, and cassava. The causes and proliferation of aflatoxigenic contamination of Ugandan foods have been largely due to poor pre-, peri-, and postharvest activities, poor government legislation, lack of awareness, and low levels of education among farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers on this plague. Little diet diversity has exacerbated the risk of exposure to aflatoxins in Uganda because most of the staple foods are aflatoxin-prone. On the detection and control, these are still marginal, though some devoted scholars have devised and validated a sensitive portable device for on-site aflatoxin detection in maize and shown that starter cultures used for making some cereal-based beverages have the potential to bind aflatoxins. More efforts should be geared towards awareness creation and vaccination against hepatitis B and hepatitis A to reduce the risk of development of liver cancer among the populace.
... With a sandwich system, the target antigen is detected via capturing between two antibodies, which identify different epitopes (Suzuki, Munakata, Morita, Shinoda, & Ueda, 2007).The advantages of this technique are included rapid speed screening, high specificity, simple operation without using any instrument or readers and eco-friendly analysis because radioactive labels and large volumes of organic solvents are not required (Krska & Molinelli, 2009;Sakamoto et al., 2018). Quantification and detection of common mycotoxins, including AFM 1 , AFs, OTA, DON, fumonisins, ZEA, and T-2 toxin are possible with commercial ELISA kits (Chun, Kim, Ok, Hwang, & Chung, 2007;Li, Millson, Coker, & Evans, 2009). ...
Article
Background: Cereal and cereal-based products are used as an important sources of energy and minerals as well as vitamins in all of the world. However, their contamination with mycotoxins reserved huge concerns due to adverse effects of mycotoxin on human health. Scope and approach: The present research was undertaken to evaluate published studies regarding the identification of mycotoxins zearalenone (ZEN), ochratoxin A (OTA), deoxynivalenol (DON), and total aflatoxin (TAF) in the cereal-based products between 1 January 1983 and 25 December 2017. In this regard, 66 out of 2817 screened studies were used in the conducted systematic review. Key findings and conclusions: The lowest and highest number of published reports was associated with DON and TAF in some of the cereal-based products, respectively. Among the countries, Germany was ranked as the first in establishing investigations. Moreover, the liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS) was categorized as the most implemented technique for mycotoxin detection. The rank order of products cereal-based food based on number of studies was cereal grains > cornflake > bread > breakfast > flour > infant product > pasta > other products. The results of this study not only summarized the most frequently mycotoxin detection technique but also may provide a roadmap for future research regarding the mycotoxins detection analysis.
... Aflatoxins are extremely toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced by some Aspergillus species namely A. flavus, A. parasiticus and the rare A. nomius contaminate a wide range of agricultural products . Although more than 20 aflatoxins have been identified, only aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ), aflatoxin B 2 (AFB 2 ), aflatoxin G 1 (AFG 1 ), and aflatoxin G 2 (AFG 2 ) are classified as human's carcinogens (Chun, Kim, Ok, Hwang, & Chung, 2007). AFB1 presents the highest toxic potential (CAST, 2003); being hepatotoxic and carcinogenic in human and animals (Nogueira et al., 2009;Pitt, 2000) and listed as a Group I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (IARC, 2002). ...
Article
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This is a highly sensitive assay to detect Aflatoxin in cereals by microarray immunoassay
... ELISA methods potentially have advantages over the other procedures because of their simplicity, sensitivity, low cost and the use of safe reagents. Extensive studies on Aflatoxins in foods have validated ELISA, in comparison with very accurate, but expensive, low throughput research-oriented techniques, such as HPLC and LC/MS (Chun et al., 2007, Ayejuyo et al., 2011, Oplatowska-Stachowiak et al., 2016. ...
Article
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Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is most frequently found in plant substrates, which has shown the highest toxigenic potential. Based on previous studies, the IARC has classified AFB1 as a class 1A human carcinogen. Several impacts on consumers, such as loss of human and animal lives; health care and veterinary care costs; contaminated foods and feeds disposal costs; and investment in research and management of the myco-toxin problem. Fourteen maize seed samples comprising of recommended and local varieties were collected from three maize growing zones (Zone I- Almora, Kullu, Bilaspur, Dhaulakuan, Kangara, Saharanpur, Zone II- Karnal, Ludhiana, Pantnagar, New Delhi and Zone III- Begusarai, Varanasi, Sabour-1 and Sabour 2). In our studies AFB1 toxin range were noticed Zone-I (0.0294- 153.5081 ppb), Zone-II (0.1761- 161.0537 ppb ppb) and Zone-III (3.8366- 53.1256 ppb) collected seed samples.This indicate that ELISA technique could be applied to the monitoring of Aflatoxin contamination in a lot of samples in a cost, accuracy, simplicity and time effective manner.
... The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies aflatoxins as group 1 carcinogens and AFM 1 as group 2B carcinogen [11][12][13][14]. Human exposure to aflatoxins can occur via consumption of agricultural products (such as maize, rice, peanuts and nuts etc.) or following consumption of dairy products (such as milk, cheese and yoghurt), meat and eggs produced by livestock exposed to aflatoxins [15][16][17]. Long-term exposure to aflatoxins is a major risk factor for liver cancer [18]. ...
Article
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Background Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a hydroxylated metabolite formed after aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is consumed by humans and animals; it can be detected in urine, milk and blood. It is well recognized that AFB1 is toxic to humans and other animals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies aflatoxins as group 1 carcinogens and AFM1 as group 2B carcinogen. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the exposure of pigs to aflatoxins as well as to assess the public awareness of aflatoxins among people in five provinces in Vietnam. Results A total of 1920 urine samples were collected from slaughterhouses located in five provinces. Overall, the positive rate of AFM1 was 53.90% (95% confidence interval 51.64–56.15) using a cut-off of 0.15 μg/kg (range: limit of detection to 13.66 μg/kg, median: 0.2 μg/kg and mean: 0.63 μg/kg). A total of 252 people from the general population were interviewed from 5 provinces, and overall 67.86% reported being aware of aflatoxins. We also found that men and more highly educated had significantly increased awareness of aflatoxins compared to the females and primary/secondary school group. The respective odds ratios (ORs) were as follows: “male” group (OR: 2.64), “high school educated” group (OR: 3.40) and “college/university or more educated” group (OR: 10.20). Conclusions We can conclude that pigs in Vietnam are exposed to aflatoxins to varying degrees, and there may be a risk that pork products could contain AFM1. Further investigation is needed into the possible health impacts as well as to aid in establishing regulations for animal feed to reduce the health impacts in humans and animals.
... The LOD and LOQ were found to be 1.17 ng g −1 and 3.56 ng g −1 respectively. Previously in the literature it was reported that the recovery in a study for AFB 1 determination in several nuts, was estimated at 102.0% while LOD and LOQ were 0.08 ng g −1 and 0.15 ng g −1 respectively (Chun et al., 2007). In another study, Kabak (2014) reported recoveries from 95.7% to 96.4% in walnuts and LOD and LOQ at 0.02 ng g −1 and 0.07 ng g −1 respectively. ...
Article
Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites, with aflatoxin B1 being the most common, reported as carcinogenic, teratogenic and genotoxic. This study investigates the antiaflatoxigenic efficacy of the herbaceous plant Cistus incanus L. against Aspergillus parasiticus in two substrates, yeast extract sucrose medium and macadamia nuts. The methanolic extract of Cistus incanus showed pronounced antiaflatoxigenic ability, inhibiting aflatoxin B1 production in both substrates. AFB1 production was decreased significantly in a percentage of 87.1–90.1% after Cistus incanus extract addition in YES medium. The extract effectiveness was also observed in macadamia nuts, where the AFB1 production by Aspergillus parasiticus was reduced in a percentage of 72.5–85.9%. Moreover, the risk assessment was estimated taking into account the maximum amounts of AFB1 produced in inoculated samples with and without Cistus incanus addition. It was revealed that Cistus incanus presence leads to a lesser exposure of AFB1 to consumers.
... The mycotoxin aflatoxin is known to be a potent carcinogen. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set action levels (levels where the FDA will take legal action to remove products from the market) of 20 ppb (µg/kg) for the sum total of the four aflotoxins in foods such as corn, peanuts, brazil nuts and pistachios as well as other foods [11][12][13][14] . ...
Article
Aflatoxins are mycotoxins, structurally related compounds produced as secondary metabolites by aspergillus molds, primarily flavus and parasiticus. Aflatoxins occur naturally in dry coconut, peanuts, cottonseed, corn, almond, cashew nut and dried chili pepper, as well as many mixed or processed foods and feeds. A simple, sensitive, and robust HPLC method and ultraviolet detection was used to analyze aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 in dry coconut. Although more number of aflatoxins exists, the four major toxins of interest are B1, B2, G1 and G2. They are designated according to their absorption properties in the UV region of the spectrum. Aflatoxin B1 and B2 emit radiation corresponding to blue wavelength, while G1 and G2 emit yellow-green wavelength. The extracts were cleaned using solid phase extraction method (SPE) preferably over immuno affinity columns (IAC) as the former give better recovery of aflatoxins than the latter one even with most challenging matrices and other methods like soxhlet extraction and accelerated solvent extraction. Further no interferences were found to be present after the cleanup of the sample matrix.
... Aflatoxins comprise a group of natural mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which can contaminate a wide range of food products such as grains, nuts and dairy [63,64]. Reports show [65] that 5e10% of agricultural products are rendered unsuitable for human consumption by the presence of different types of aflatoxins. ...
Article
Water-soluble cysteamine-capped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are designed to serve as a photodetector for a dangerous group of carcinogens called aflatoxins. ZnS QDs are synthesized by growth in a poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix using the precipitation method. The prepared QDs are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Our characterization shows that these ZnS QDs have a 1.77 nm crystalline size, cubic zinc blende structure and spherical morphology with a diameter less than 10 nm. Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) is performed in the presence of a standard solution of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2 with a ratio of 5:1:5:1) at various concentrations, in order to determine the efficacy of a ZnS QD-based aflatoxin detection method. Two PL emission peaks located at 440 nm and 467 nm are observed whose intensities are enhanced by increasing the concentration of total aflatoxin. PL variations in the range of aflatoxin concentrations studied here (2.4 ppbe48 ppb) are best described by a Langmuir-type equation. The limit of detection is calculated to be 0.05 ppb, well below the lowest international contamination allowance in food products.
... Aflatoxins are extremely toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced by some Aspergillus species namely A. flavus, A. parasiticus and the rare A. nomius contaminate a wide range of agricultural products . Although more than 20 aflatoxins have been identified, only aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ), aflatoxin B 2 (AFB 2 ), aflatoxin G 1 (AFG 1 ), and aflatoxin G 2 (AFG 2 ) are classified as human's carcinogens (Chun, Kim, Ok, Hwang, & Chung, 2007). AFB1 presents the highest toxic potential (CAST, 2003); being hepatotoxic and carcinogenic in human and animals (Nogueira et al., 2009;Pitt, 2000) and listed as a Group I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (IARC, 2002). ...
Article
A method for the accurate determination of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, and G2 in grains was established using isotope dilution-ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID-UHPLC-MS/MS). 13C- labeled aflatoxins (AFs) were used as internal standards. AFs were extracted with a mixture of methanol/water (60/40; v/v) and purified using an immunoaffinity column (IAC) for adequate elimination of matrix interferences. The method showed excellent analytical performance over the studied range (0.5 to 4 µg/kg). The limits of detection (0.002–0.005 µg/kg) and quantification (0.007–0.011 µg/kg) were substantially lower than the maximum level fixed by the European Union for grain cereals. The accuracy values ranged from 97% to 103% for all AFs, with intraday and interday precisions ranging from 1.8–3.0% and 0.3–3.8% relative standard deviation (RSD), respectively. The measurement uncertainty was less than 4.20%. The developed method shows high-order metrological quality with superior performance over the existing analytical methods. The practical applicability of the method was demonstrated by the measurement of AFs in different grain samples.
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Background and Objective Aflatoxins are a group of naturally occurring mycotoxin which are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain filamentous fungi like Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus . The main objective of this study was to screen the occurrence of aflatoxin in ready to eat nuts available locally and analyzing for its nutritive value and to evaluate the efficiency of conventional (thin-layer chromatography [TLC]) and sensitive kit-based (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) method by detection of the aflatoxin in the sample. Methods A total of 50 samples including peanuts (10), cashew nuts (10), almonds (10), pistachio (10), and walnuts (10) were collected from different stores in Mangalore city. Each sample was divided into three fractions, as for microbiological analysis, proximate analysis, and detection of aflatoxin by following standard method (AOAC2000). Results The present study evidenced the contamination of aflatoxin in all of the five types of ready-to-eat nuts examined and the concentration was within the acceptable limits. But, among the samples analyzed, G10 (groundnut) showed a maximum concentration of 16 µg/L aflatoxin detected by ELISA method. It was also observed that the proximate analysis mainly moisture content did not affect aflatoxin accumulation. Conclusion Our study shows that aflatoxin contamination of food products has become a serious threat. Although several methods for detection and quantification of toxins have been developed, due to their low concentration of toxicity in food commodities, an analytical method for detection and quantification of aflatoxin have to be specific, sensitive, and simple to carry out and among TLC and ELISA, ELISA came out as a suitable for rapid and sensitive detection.
Article
This work report the effect of irradiation with gamma rays (1, 2 and 3 kGy) on the chemical composition, microbial loads, chemical characteristics and sensorial properties of the peanut seeds. The data obtained from the experiments showed that gamma irradiation process has no effect on the proximate composition (water content, proteins, sugars, lipids, and ash), and chemical attributes (free fatty acids, pH value and based nitrogen value (BVN)) of peanut seeds. Irradiation was found to cause significant reduction in microbial load and no fungal colonies were detected in irradiated samples with 2 and 3 kGy. Bacterial and fungal load of irradiated peanut seeds and there comparison with control samples suggest that gamma irradiation treatment at low doses is an effective post-harvest treatment and quarantine control for fungal load. However, non-irradiated and irradiated peanut seeds did not show significant differences in the sensorial test (texture, odor, color and test).
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Globally, the food is contaminated by various means, but microorganisms are predominant factor in contaminating the food and agriculture commodities. Among microorganisms, fungi are mainly involved in the spoilage of food due to their diversified nature and minimal requirement for growth. The toxigenic fungi associated with mycotoxins, can grow during any stage of food chain including harvesting, handling, distribution and storage. Myco-toxins are fungal secondary metabolites and their production is influenced by various factors such as environmental conditions, crop type and storageconditions. Mycotoxins in agriculture commodities expose serious health hazards. This review entails different types of mycotoxins involved in the spoilage of food and agriculture commodities, their potential health hazard, maximum allowable limits of mycotoxins in different food commodities and possible control strategies. In developing countries, regulatory authorities need to establish quality control strategies and limits of mycotoxins in food, in order to ensure the consumer safety.
Thesis
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Aflatoxin contamination is a major global public health problem especially in the developing countries.
Article
Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria species which produce toxic metabolites, create a big problem in terms of the production of reliable human food and animal feeds. This study was conducted to determine the mycotoxin contents of foodstuff collected uniformly in each year of 2017, 2018, and 2019 in Şebinkarahisar, Turkey by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The highest total aflatoxin, and aflatoxin B1 were determined in red pepper in 2018 with 6.47 ± 0.07 and 4.58 ± 0.01 μg kg⁻¹, respectively while the highest ochratoxin amount was obtained again in the red paper in 2019 with 7.97 ± 0.57 μg kg⁻¹. Contrarily, the highest incidence of zearalenone and deoxynivalenol was determined in wheat and corn flour with 12.49 ± 0.3 and 397.6 ± 7.34 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. Weather changes have also been found to affect the incidence of mycotoxin. But, determined mycotoxin values do not pose a risk according to the Turkish Food Codex Contaminants Regulation.
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Uganda is predominantly an agricultural country where farming employ more than 60% of the population. Aflatoxins remain a scourge in the country, unprecedentedly reducing the value of agricultural foods and in high enough exposure levels, implicated for hepatocellular carcinoma, stunted growth in children and untimely deaths. This review synthetizes the country’s major findings in relation to the mycotoxin’s etiology, epidemiology, detection, quantification, exposure assessment, control and reduction in different matrices. It also highlights some of the management strategies for aflatoxin control that could be adopted in Uganda. Review results indicate that aflatoxins in Uganda is majorly produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and have been reported in maize ( Zea mays L.), sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L.), sesame ( Sesamum indicum ), beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.), sunflower ( Helianthus annus ), millet ( Eleusine coracana) , a bovine milk-based product, peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea L.) and cassava ( Manihotesculenta ) with the highest content reported in cassava, beans and peanuts. The causes and proliferation of aflatoxigenic contamination of Ugandan foods have been largely due to poor pre-, peri- and post-harvest activities, poor government legislation, lack of awareness and low levels of education among farmers, agri-entreprenuers and consumers on the plague. Aflatoxin B 1 is the most prevalent aflatoxin in Uganda. There is still limited research on aflatoxins in Uganda because the surveillance, reduction and control carry prohibitive costs. A few exposure assessments have been done especially in human sera and dependence on a single or a related set of foods with little diet diversity has exacerbated the risk of exposure to aflatoxins in Uganda because most of the staple foods are aflatoxin-prone. On the detection, control and reduction, these are still marginal, though some devoted scholars have devised and validated a sensitive portable device for on-site aflatoxin detection in maize as well as shown that starter cultures used for making some cereal-based beverages have the potential to bind aflatoxins. More effort should be geared towards awareness creation through training of farmers and traders in the cereal value chain as well as developing capacity to monitor aflatoxins. Vaccination against Hepatitis B and Hepatitis A should be emphasized to reduce the risk of development of liver cancer among the populace.
Article
Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites naturally occurring in many foods such as peanuts, spices, rice, tree nuts, and maize. Aflatoxins are both genotoxic and carcinogenic substances and can cause severe adverse health effects. The purpose of this study is to estimate the probabilistic risk of consuming aflatoxin-contaminated peanuts and peanut products. Concentration data (1.84 ± 4.03 ppb) were gathered from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) between 2005 and 2015, along with consumption rate data (from Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan) for five age groups, namely 1-2 years (babies), 3-9 years (toddlers), 10-17 years (teenagers), 18-65 years (adults), and above 65 (elderly), in two sub-populations (whole group and consumer only). These data are essential material for exposure analysis. According to the benchmark dose lower confidence limit 10% (BMDL10) (170 ng/kg bw/day) suggested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the calculated margin of exposure (MOE) value cannot reach 10,000. Cancer potency data from Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) indicates that the estimated population risk ranges from 0.0007 to 0.2713 cancers/100,000 population/year. Although aflatoxin contamination does not seem to largely account for the occurrence of liver cancer in Taiwan, MOE calculations point out that it may cause potential health concerns.
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The purpose of this study is to study the prevalence of aflatoxin B1 in commercial dried salted fish and other related information. A total of 150 samples were classified into 3 groups, based on the salt content. Low salt content (0-5%) were dried anchovies (Stolephorus sp.) and commerson’s anchovy (Stolephorus commersonii); moderate salt content (6-10%) were medan anchovy (Stolephorus bataviensis) and whipfin silverbiddy (Gerres filamentosus) while high salt content (>10%) were moonlight gouramy (Trichogaster microlepis) and snakehead fish (Channa striata). The samples were collected from different seller in Java Island and then determined for Aspergillus flavus, Aflatoxin B1, salt content, moisture content, pH, water activity and total mold count. Results showed that dried salted fish were contaminated with A. flavus at temperature of 25.2-32.2 oC, 65-84% humidity, 17-50% moisture content, 0.25-19.88% salt content, and 0.73-0.86 aw. The prevalence of A. flavus in dried salted fish was 9.33% (14/150) and the prevalence of aflatoxin B1 was 8% (12/150) with detectable concentrations of 10.71-33.6 ppb.
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Introduction: Consumption of grains, nuts dried fruits, spices and cow's milk is high globally elevated. These foods are susceptible sensitive to biological contamination, including that caused by fungi of the genus Aspergillus, which produce secondary toxic metabolites called aflatoxins, which cause adverse health effects. The aflatoxin B1 and M1 have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Group I as carcinogenic to humans. This article shows the occurrence of aflatoxins in some foods for human consumption and its relationship to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: A bibliographic search was carried out in the databases: Science Direct, Scopus, Pubmed and Web of Science. Words like "risk assessment and aflatoxin", "occurrence and aflatoxins", "aflatoxins and hepatocellular carcinoma", "aflatoxins and foodstuffs" were used. Results: Based on the studies conducted it was demonstrated that the occurrence of aflatoxins is high, especially in cereals grains such as rice, corn, and wheat. In addition, research related to exposure assessment highlighted the link between frequent consumption of these mycotoxins and the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, especially in people who have contracted hepatitis B virus. Conclusion: The high prevalence of aflatoxins in food has generated food security safety alarms worldwide. Although some regulations have been created, in countries where there is greater more exposure to these mycotoxins there is little or no quality control. It is Therefore, it is important to create relevant monitoring mechanisms so that the to reduce the risk of fungal contamination and food with aflatoxins. possible cases of liver cancer may be lower.
Chapter
Mycotoxin contamination of agricultural products is a global problem but is most severe in tropical and subtropical regions. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that up to 25 % of the world food crops are significantly contaminated with mycotoxins. The most effective tools against mycotoxins are essentially based on the prevention of mould growth in each stage of the food chain. A strategy to reduce the risk of mycotoxin contamination should include prevention practice in the field and during the postharvest phase, and control measures. However, when contamination is not prevented during the preharvest and postharvest periods, several approaches can be employed to help remove mycotoxins from the subsequently contaminated commodities, including physical, chemical, and biological techniques. The main decontamination and detoxification strategies, and food processing, used to reduce the mycotoxin in contaminated food or feed are considered in this chapter. Techniques for food decontamination are based on the collection and removal of the contaminated parts from a mass of product. Detoxification processes should destroy or inactivate mycotoxins, generate no toxic products, guarantee the nutritional value of the food, and induce no modification to the technological properties of the product. Detoxification processes effective in vitro do not necessarily retain their efficacy when tested in vivo. Although certain treatments are effective in reducing specific mycotoxins in foods and feeds, no single method is equally effective against the wide variety of mycotoxins occurring in different commodities. More work is needed to study the fate of mycotoxins during decontamination, detoxification, and food processing. Future studies should focus on the reduction of toxicological risk associated with processed commodities contaminated with mycotoxins and on the prevention of recontamination during storage.
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Aflatoxins are a group of secondary metabolites produced by members of Aspergillus Section Flavi that are dangerous to humans and animals. Nuts can be potentially contaminated with aflatoxins, often over the legal threshold. Food processes, including roasting, may have different effects on mycotoxins, and high temperatures have proven to be very effective in the reduction of mycotoxins. In this work, two different roasting methods—traditional static hot air roasting and infra-red rays roasting—were applied and compared for the detoxification of hazelnuts from Italy and Turkey. At the temperature of 140 °C for 40 min of exposure, detoxification was effective for both roasting techniques. Residual aflatoxins after infra-red rays treatments were lower compared to static hot air roasting. On Italian hazelnuts, residual aflatoxins were lower than 5%, while for Turkish hazelnuts they were lower than 15% after 40 min of exposure to an infra-red rays roaster. After roasting, the perisperm was detached from the nuts and analyzed for aflatoxin contents. Residual aflatoxins in the perisperm ranged from 80% up to 100%. After roasting, the lipid profile and the nutritional quality of hazelnuts were not affected. Fatty acid methyl esters analyses showed a similar composition for Italian and Turkish hazelnuts.
Chapter
Low water activity of these foods inhibits the growth of pathogenic microorganisms. However, at the same time it can promote long-term survival of certain pathogens. The microbial contamination can occur throughout the processing, from pre-harvesting stage to final processed food. Several factors play important role in maintaining quality and safety of these products, such as environmental conditions of cultivation area, harvest, storage and transport, type of unit operation, handlers and hygienic conditions of processing environment. However, good manufacturing practices can bring a big difference in dealing with food safety challenges.
Chapter
This chapter presents an overview of microbial ecology for nuts, seeds, sprouts, and their products in retail markets or food manufacturers. It discusses quantitative and qualitative approaches used to assess pathogenic bacterial contamination of nuts, seeds, and sprouts and also analyzes the published data about microbiological changes occurring in seeds and sprouts during production in a real manufacturing plant. Edible nuts were generally believed to contain few microorganisms due to their inherent dry characteristics, which provide unfavorable environments for bacterial survival and growth. Seeds used for sprouting can have significant levels of endemic bacteria. Contamination levels and the prevalence of bacteria in seeds used for sprout production. Edible nuts, seeds, and sprouts harbor considerable numbers of microorganisms, and the prevalence of food-borne pathogens has been reported in a number of publications. Molds and their toxic metabolites and food-borne pathogenic bacteria are a major concern for the food safety of edible nuts and seeds.
Article
Safety concerns pertaining towards fungal occurrence and mycotoxins contamination in agri-food commodities has been an issue of high apprehension. With the increase in evidence based research knowledge on health effects posed by ingestion of mycotoxins-contaminated food and feed by humans and livestock, concerns have been raised towards providing more insights on screening of agri-food commodities to benefit consumers. Available reports indicate majority of edible oil-yielding seeds to be contaminated by various fungi, capable of producing mycotoxins. These mycotoxins can enter human food chain via use of edible oils or via animals fed with contaminated oil cake residues. In this review, we have decisively evaluated available data (from the past decade) pertaining towards fungal occurrence and level of mycotoxins in various oil seeds and their edible oils. This review can be of practical use to justify the prevailing gaps, especially relevant to the research on presence of mycotoxins in edible plant based oils.
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Peanut meal (PM) is limited in practical use (feed or food) from imbalance of amino acid profile and denaturation of protein. Fermentation was used to promote its nutritional and functional properties by single-factor experiments and orthogonal experiments. Results showed that the nutritional properties of fermented peanut meal (crude protein content, dry matter content, ash content, acid soluble oligopeptides content, in vitro digestibility, and content of organic acids) had a significant increase (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) and more importantly, the content of amino acids was balanced by fermentation. In addition, fermented peanut meal possessed better antioxidant activities in the areas of reducing power, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·) radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, and metal chelating activity (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). These results implied that the nutritional and antioxidant properties of peanut meal were improved effectively by biological modification, which could be valuable in terms of nutrition and protein resources. It is great of importance to meet requirement of raw materials for husbandry in China when facing a huge lacking of feedstuff, especially for protein feed with an over 80 % import amount depending from other countries yearly.
Article
Aflatoxins, a group of closely related hepatocarcenogenic metabolites produced by certain species of Aspergillus may contaminate plant and plant products. The objective of this study was to detect the level of aflatoxins in Iranian nuts. A total of 80 samples including pistachio (20), almond (20), hazelnut (20) and walnut (20) were randomly collected from the retail markets in Esfahan, Iran and analyzed for aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2 and total using HPLC method. Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2 and Total were found in 7.5%, 2.5%, 7.5%, 2.5% and 10% of the analyzed samples by an average concentration of 8.32, 5.635, 3, 067, 1.705 and 10.375 μg/kg, respectively. The concentration of AFB1 in 66.67% of AFB1-positive nut sample were higher than 5 μg/kg and the concentration of AFs total in 37.5% of AFs total-positive nut samples were higher than 15 μg/kg which is the maximum tolerated level by research of Iran. The percentage of pistachio AFs-positive nut samples was significantly (P<0.05) higher than almond, hazelnut and walnut samples. The results of the present study showed the importance of periodically monitoring the level of aflatoxins in nuts in Iran.
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The presence of aflatoxin B1 was analyzed in imported food and feedstuffs of national production in the period of 1990 through 1996, destined to animal and human consumption using an immunoenzymatic reagent kit (Aflacen, Ckure, la Habana, Cuba) with a detection limit of 0.3 microg/kg. It was found that the 17.04% of a total of 4,594 analyzed samples presented aflatoxin B1, and the biggest percentages were in sorghum and peanut with an 83.3 and 40.4%, respectively. The corn, oat, wheat, and soy are fundamental raw ingredients in the elaboration of concentrates. Percentages of contamination with aflatoxin B1 of 23.3, 10.7, 25, and 4.6 were found in corn, oat, wheat, and soy, respectively. Other analyzed foods like rice, beans, and peas presented percentages of contamination with aflatoxin B1 inferior to 5% of the analyzed samples. It was found that more than 455 samples surpassed the value of 10 microg/kg. Corn and peanut products present a high demand in population showing levels of contamination superior to 50 microg/kg. The 11.3% of the samples contaminated with aflatoxin B1 have values between 1 and 20 microg/kg, where peanut and concentrates show the highest percentages (21.9 and 18.7), respectively. These results show levels of aflatoxin B1 in the population that constitute a great risk for human and animal health.
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Peanuts are important food commodities, but they are susceptible to fungal infestation and mycotoxin contamination. Raw peanuts were purchased from retail outlets in Botswana and examined for fungi and mycotoxin (aflatoxins and cyclopiazonic acid) contamination. Zygomycetes were the most common fungi isolated; they accounted for 41% of all the isolates and were found on 98% of the peanut samples. Among the Zygomycetes, Absidia corymbifera and Rhizopus stolonifer were the most common. Aspergillus spp. accounted for 35% of all the isolates, with Aspergillus niger being the most prevalent (20.4%). Aspergillus flavus/parasiticus were also present and accounted for 8.5% of all the isolates, with A. flavus accounting for the majority of the A. flavus/parasiticus identified. Of the 32 isolates of A. flavus screened for mycotoxin production, 11 did not produce detectable aflatoxins, 8 produced only aflatoxins B1 and B2, and 13 produced all four aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2) in varying amounts. Only 6 of the A. flavus isolates produced cyclopiazonic acid at concentrations ranging from 1 to 55 microg/kg. The one A. parasiticus isolate screened also produced all the four aflatoxins (1,200 microg/kg) but did not produce cyclopiazonic acid. When the raw peanut samples (n = 120) were analyzed for total aflatoxins, 78% contained aflatoxins at concentrations ranging from 12 to 329 microg/kg. Many of the samples (49%) contained total aflatoxins at concentrations above the 20 microg/kg limit set by the World Health Organization. Only 21% (n = 83) of the samples contained cyclopiazonic acid with concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 microg/kg. The results show that mycotoxins and toxigenic fungi are common contaminants of peanuts sold at retail in Botswana.
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A survey for aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) was conducted on 88 food-grade rice samples randomly collected during July and August 2002 in Seoul, Korea. The presence of AFB(1) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the positive samples from enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were confirmed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Besides this, from the surveying data from the literature published since 1997, the intake of AFB(1) from food in Korea was calculated and compared with the provisional maximum tolerable daily intakes. Naturally occurring AFB(1) was found in 5/88 (6%) samples of rice with an average of 4.8 ng g(-1). A calculated probable daily intake of AFB(1) for Koreans fell into the range 1.19-5.79 ng kg(-1) bw day(-1), hence exceeding the estimated provisional maximum tolerable daily intakes. In conclusion, the exposure of Koreans to AFB(1) could bring about health concerns. This is the first report discovering that rice is the major contributor to the dietary intake of AFB(1) in Korea.
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An assay based on multiplex PCR was applied for the detection of potential aflatoxin-producing molds in Korean fermented foods and grains. Three genes, avfA, omtA, and ver-1, coding for key enzymes in aflatoxin biosynthesis, were used as aflatoxin-detecting target genes in multiplex PCR. DNA extracted from Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium expansum, and Fusarium verticillioides was used as PCR template to test specificity of the multiplex PCR assay. Positive results were achieved only with DNA that was extracted from the aflatoxigenic molds A. flavus and A. parasiticus in all three primer pairs. This result was supported by aflatoxin detection with direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DC-ELISA). The PCR assay required just a few hours, enabling rapid and simultaneous detection of many samples at a low cost. A total of 22 Meju samples, 24 Doenjang samples, and 10 barley samples commercially obtained in Korea were analyzed. The DC-ELISA assay for aflatoxin detection gave negative results for all samples, whereas the PCR-based method gave positive results for 1 of 22 Meju samples and 2 of 10 barley samples. After incubation of the positive samples with malt extract agar, DC-ELISA also gave positive results for aflatoxin detection. All Doenjang samples were negative by multiplex PCR and DC-ELISA assay, suggesting that aflatoxin contamination and the presence of aflatoxin-producing molds in Doenjang are probably low.
Article
This article describes the current analytical approaches for the detection and determination of aflatoxins in food. Emphasis is on the development of simplified and cost-effective but efficient analytical methods for fast screening or for precise determination in order to comply with legislative requirements. An overview is also given of methods for the detection of aflatoxin-producing moulds.
Article
Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 were determined at parts-per-trillion levels in beer by immunoaffinity column cleanup and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) with fluorescence detection after trifluoroacetic acid derivatization. Silanized vials were necessary for the evaporation step in order to obtain good recoveries of aflatoxins from spiked beer samples. Recoveries averaged 90-104%, 94%, 84-87%, and 89% for aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, respectively, at levels of 9.7-133 ng B1, 46 ng B2, 35-140 ng G1, and 41 ng G2/L. Detection limits were 19-20 ng/L for aflatoxins B1 and G1 and 15-16 ng/L for aflatoxins B2 and G2 (signal-to-noise ratio = 3:1) obtained by using an excitation wavelength of 360 nm; at 340 nm these detection limits were lowered to about 2 ng/L. Analysis of 24 beer samples, the majority from the United States and Mexico, showed natural contamination of one sample of Mexican beer at 49 ng B1/L when determined at 360 nm excitation, but reanalysis of 23 of the samples using 340 nm excitation indicated that an additional 4 Mexican samples and one Brazilian sample contained aflatoxin B1 at low levels (< 10 ng/L).
Article
A comparative study on the natural occurrence of aflatoxins and Fusarium toxins was conducted with corn samples from high- and low-incidence areas for human primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) in Guangxi, China. In samples from the high-risk area, aflatoxin B(1) was the predominant toxin detected in terms of quantity and frequency, with its concentration ranging between 9 and 2496 microg/kg and an 85% incidence of contamination. Among the samples, 13 (76%) exceeded the Chinese regulation of 20 microg/kg for aflatoxin B(1) in corn and corn-based products intended for human consumption. Significant differences in aflatoxin B(1), B(2), and G(1) and total aflatoxin concentrations in corn between the areas were found (P < 0.05). The average daily intake of aflatoxin B(1) from corn in the high-risk area was 184.1 microg, and the probable daily intake is estimated to be 3.68 microg/kg of body weight/day, 3.20 times the TD(50) in rats. Corn samples from both areas were simultaneously contaminated with fumonisins B(1), B(2), and B(3). Aflatoxin B(1) may play an important role in the development of PHC in Guangxi.
Article
The most frequent toxigenic fungi in Europe are Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium species. They produce aflatoxin B1 transformed into aflatoxin M1 found in the milk, as well as Ochratoxins and Zearalenone, Fumonisin B1, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol (vomitoxin), which are of increasing concern in human health. These mycotoxins are under continuous survey in Europe, but the regulatory aspects still need to be set up and/or harmonised at European level. They are found in foodstuffs and are not destroyed by normal industrial processing or cooking since they are heat-stable. Some of their metabolites are still toxic and may be involved in human diseases. Their toxic effects (liver, kidney and hematopoetic toxicity, immune toxicity, reproduction toxicity, foetal toxicity and teratogenicity, and mainly carcinogenicity) are mostly known in experimental models, the extrapolation to humans being always inaccurate. The inaccuracy of extrapolation to humans may be explained by the lack of adequate food consumption data, lack of knowledge about relative health risks associated with specifically proposed limits and by the possibility of synergism with other mycotoxins present in the same food commodities. Other pathological causes are viral hepatitis, immune or hormonal deficiencies or organ dysfunction. Even when a specific biomarker of a given mycotoxin is identified in humans, it remains difficult to establish the relation with a given illness, because of genetic polymorphism and the possible beneficial influence of diet, and because other environmental toxicants may well interfere. The acceptable daily intake limits are mostly based on animal data and may be too high, due to the differences in the sensitivity of different animal species. The prevention involves first reduction of mycotoxin levels in foodstuffs and further increasing the intake of diet components such as vitamins, antioxidants and substances known to prevent carcinogenesis.
Article
A study was performed to evaluate the estimated daily intakes (EDI) of benzoates for the average and high (90th percentile) consumers by age and sex categories in Korea. The estimation of daily intakes of benzoates was based on individual dietary intake data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey in 1998 and on the determination of benzoates in eight food categories. The EDI of benzoates for average consumers of different age groups ranged from 0.009 to 0.025 mg kg(-1) bw day(-1). For high consumers, the range of EDI of benzoates was 0.195-1.878 mg kg(-1) bw day(-1). The intakes represented 0.18-0.50% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of benzoates for average consumers and 3.9-37.6% of the ADI for high consumers. Foods that contributed most to the daily intakes of benzoates were mixed beverages and soy sauce in Korea.
The effects of mixed culture with Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium griseofulvum on aflatoxin and patulin production
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Kang, S. J., Kang, J. S., & Chung, D. H. (2001). The effects of mixed culture with Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium griseofulvum on aflatoxin and patulin production. Korean Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety, 16, 206–211.
Worldwide regulations for mycotoxins, 1995. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 64
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Commission regulation (EC) No.1525/98
  • European Economic Community Council
Food safety: mycotoxins and phytotoxins in perspective
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The effects of mixed culture with Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium griseofulvum on aflatoxin and patulin production
  • Kang