Aspergillus spp and aflatoxins in Pakistani rice: A case study on the decontamination effect of accelerated aging and improved storage practices.

IF 2.4 4区医学 Q2 PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY

Toxicon Pub Date : 2025-11-01 Epub Date: 2025-07-31 DOI:10.1016/j.toxicon.2025.108515

Iqra Naeem, Amir Ismail, Yun Yun Gong, Muhammad Riaz, Aneela Hameed, Mubashir Aziz, Asif Mahmood, Waheed Al Masry, Muhammad Latif, Sher Ali, Carlos Augusto Fernandes de Oliveira

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Abstract

This research aimed to isolate aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. and quantify the levels of aflatoxins (AF) in Pakistani rice (N = 180) and conduct a case study to assess the AF decontamination effect of accelerated aging (AA) using microwave and improved storage practices of brown rice. AF-producing A. flavus and A. parasiticus strains were recovered from 120 samples analyzed (66.7 %) at median counts of 2.88 and 2.33 Log colony forming units/g, respectively. AF levels in Pakistani rice (paddy, brown, and white rice) exceeded the EU maximum permissible limit (MPL) of 5 μg/kg for AFB₁ and 10 μg/kg for total AFs in 29.8 % and 15.6 % of samples, respectively. Brown rice showed the highest AF contamination (85 %), followed by paddy rice (83.3 %) and white rice (76.7 %), with median levels of 7.65, 5.70 and 4.38 μg/kg, respectively. Compared with traditional storage of brown rice aged naturally, AF levels in kernels submitted to AA along with improved storage had a 46 % reduction during 180-day storage. Compared with naturally aged samples, AA brown rice had lower values of fatty acid, and higher levels of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity at day 180 of storage. Data presented indicated that AA using microwave and proper storage practices are valuable strategies to mitigate AF contamination in brown rice, with additional beneficial effects on the product's quality during storage.

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巴基斯坦大米中的曲霉和黄曲霉毒素：加速老化和改进储存方法去污效果的个案研究。

本研究旨在分离巴基斯坦大米（N = 180）中的产黄曲霉曲霉（Aspergillus spp.），定量测定黄曲霉毒素（aft .）水平，并开展案例研究，评估微波加速老化（AA）和改进糙米储藏方式对aft的去污效果。120份样品中分别检出产af的黄曲霉和寄生蜂菌株（66.7%），中位数分别为2.88和2.33 Log菌落形成单位/g。巴基斯坦水稻（稻谷、糙米和白米）中AF含量分别超过欧盟最大允许限量（MPL）（AFB1 5 μg/kg，总AFs 10 μg/kg）的29.8%和15.6%。糙米的AF污染最高（85%），其次是水稻（83.3%）和白米（76.7%），中位数分别为7.65、5.70和4.38 μg/kg。与自然老化糙米的传统贮藏相比，改良贮藏条件下AA处理的糙米籽粒在180 d的贮藏期间AF水平降低了46%。在贮藏180 d时，AA糙米的脂肪酸含量低于自然陈酿的糙米，总酚含量和抗氧化活性高于自然陈酿的糙米。结果表明，微波AA处理和适当的贮藏方法是减少糙米中AF污染的有效方法，对糙米贮藏过程中的产品质量也有有益的影响。

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来源期刊

Toxicon 医学-毒理学

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

10.70%

发文量

358

审稿时长

68 days

期刊介绍： Toxicon has an open access mirror Toxicon: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review. An introductory offer Toxicon: X - full waiver of the Open Access fee. Toxicon''s "aims and scope" are to publish: -articles containing the results of original research on problems related to toxins derived from animals, plants and microorganisms -papers on novel findings related to the chemical, pharmacological, toxicological, and immunological properties of natural toxins -molecular biological studies of toxins and other genes from poisonous and venomous organisms that advance understanding of the role or function of toxins -clinical observations on poisoning and envenoming where a new therapeutic principle has been proposed or a decidedly superior clinical result has been obtained. -material on the use of toxins as tools in studying biological processes and material on subjects related to venom and antivenom problems. -articles on the translational application of toxins, for example as drugs and insecticides -epidemiological studies on envenoming or poisoning, so long as they highlight a previously unrecognised medical problem or provide insight into the prevention or medical treatment of envenoming or poisoning. Retrospective surveys of hospital records, especially those lacking species identification, will not be considered for publication. Properly designed prospective community-based surveys are strongly encouraged. -articles describing well-known activities of venoms, such as antibacterial, anticancer, and analgesic activities of arachnid venoms, without any attempt to define the mechanism of action or purify the active component, will not be considered for publication in Toxicon. -review articles on problems related to toxinology. To encourage the exchange of ideas, sections of the journal may be devoted to Short Communications, Letters to the Editor and activities of the affiliated societies.