Important Mycotoxins, Iran Status

Abstract

A review of reports on mycotoxins demonstrates that aflatoxins, fumonisins, and deoxynivalenol are the most important while zearalenone and ochratoxin also were found frequently in Iran. Natural mycotoxin contaminations of the most important plant grains and commodities have been reported during the recent decade. In 2013 more than 90% of wheat samples collected at harvest time in Ardabil province was contaminated to deoxynivalenol, with the average amount of 1.7μgg -1 . Wheat, barley, maize, and rice were tested for zearalenone contamination but generally, contaminations were below than 200μgkg -1 . Fumonisin contamination was reported in many research and maize is one of the most contaminated cereals to fumonisin, in some maize samples 10μgg -1 of this carcinogenic compound was detected. Aflatoxins, the most thoroughly studied and the best understood of mycotoxins have occurred in foodstuffs commonly all over the world. Tree nuts, particularly pistachio nuts, are highly susceptible to contamination by aflatoxins, 32% of the 122 isolates of A. flavus isolates from pistachios, produce more than 2μgkg -1 aflatoxins, also aflatoxin contamination also was detected in fig, almond, and hazelnut. Cereals could also be contaminated to aflatoxins and sometimes 100% of samples were contaminated to aflatoxins. AFB1 was detected in 43.6% of maize samples, in which only 22.5% were contaminated to higher than MRL level. Barley, grape, raisin, and coffee are the major commodity that could contaminate to ochratoxin A; heavy contamination of raisin was reported in damaged raisin sample in Iran. There are a few works on herbal medicine contamination to mycotoxin and natural occurrence of AFs in herbal medicines was less than tolerance level. Contaminations of the most important mycotoxins in food have been reviewed in this article.