Mycotoxins

Abstract

There are five mycotoxins, or groups of mycotoxins, that occur quite often in food: deoxynivalenol/nivalenol; zearalenone; ochratoxin; fumonisins; and aflatoxins. Table 1 summarizes the staple food commodities they affect, the fungal species that produce them and the main effects observed in humans and animals. T-2 toxin is also found in a variety of grains but its occurrence, to date, is less frequent than the preceding five mycotoxins. The food-borne mycotoxins likely to be of greatest significance for human health in tropical developing countries are the fumonisins and aflatoxins. Fumonisins were discovered as recently as 1988 so there is little information on their toxicology. To date, there is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of cultures of Fusarium moniliforme that contain significant amounts of fumonisins; and there is limited evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of fumonisins B1. F. moniliforme growing in maize may produce fumonisin B1, a suspected human carcinogen. Also, fumonisins B1 is toxic to pigs and poultry, and is the cause of equine leucoencephalomalacia (ELEM), a fatal disease of horses. Volume 3 Issue 4 2016