Aflatoxin

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites with bioaccumulation levels leading to their carry-over into animal fluids, organs, and tissues. As a consequence, mycotoxin determination in biological samples from humans and animals has been reported worldwide. Since most mycotoxins show toxic effects at low concentrations and considering the extremely low levels present in biological samples, the application of reliable detection methods is required. This review summarizes the information regarding the studies involving mycotoxin determination in biological samples over the last 10 years...

With growing concern on oil safety problems, developing a simple and sensitive method to detect Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a common mycotoxin in peanut oil, is very necessary. In this study, Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) aptasensor was developed for ultrasensitive AFB1 detection using the amino-terminal AFB1 aptamer (NH2-DNA1); and thiol-terminal AFB1 complementary aptamer (SH-DNA2) conjugated magnetic-beads (CS-Fe3O4) as enrichment nanoprobe and AuNR@DNTB@Ag nanorods (ADANRs) as reporter nanoprobe respectively...

Brazil nuts are the fruit of the enormous tropical tree Bertholletia excelsa that are produced in and exported from the territory of the Amazon. As a natural rich source of selenium (Se), the consumption of Brazil nuts is often suggested as therapeutic among patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases. In this review, the current knowledge regarding the main health concerns of Brazil nut consumption, such as Se toxicity, Se-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus, weight gain, radioactivity, aflatoxins, and allergic reactions, is presented and discussed...

Tumor-associated inflammation plays a critical role in facilitating tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. Our previous study showed Aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) could induce lung adenocarcinoma in mice. Chronic lung inflammation associated with superoxide dismutase (SOD)-2 upregulation was found in the lung carcinogenesis. However, it is unclear whether tumor-associated inflammation mediates SOD-2 to contribute to cell invasion in AFG1-induced lung adenocarcinoma. Here, we found increased SOD-2 expression associated with vimentin, α-SMA, Twist1, and MMP upregulation in AFG1-induced lung adenocarcinoma...

Major staple foods in Southern Africa are prone to mycotoxin contamination, posing health risks to consumers and consequent economic losses. Regional climatic zones favor the growth of one or more main mycotoxin producing fungi, Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium. Aflatoxin contamination is mainly reported in maize, peanuts and their products, fumonisin contamination in maize and maize products and patulin in apple juice. Lack of awareness of occurrence and risks of mycotoxins, poor agricultural practices and undiversified diets predispose populations to dietary mycotoxin exposure...

Aflatoxin M1 is present in milk of lactating animals fed on aflatoxin B1 contaminated feeds. Aptamers are new emerging ligand molecules and can be employed in assay protocols. Shorter aptamers have several advantages. Untruncated (72 nt long) and truncated (18 to 42 nts long) aptamers were evaluated for aflatoxin M1 recognition which was detected by colour-change in aptamer-conjugated-gold nanoparticles in presence of aflatoxin M1. Truncation of 10 aptamers was designed to retain motifs. Untruncated and truncated aptamers recognised aflatoxin M1...

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a well-known member of aflatoxins (AFs) that is considered among highly stable toxic contaminants of food, worldwide. The impact of AFB1 on neural cells and systems has poorly been understood. To assess the cellular effects of AFB1 on brain, we used murine pure primary astrocytes, sub ventricular zone-derived neural precursor cells (NPCs) and microglia cell line (BV2). Cells were exposed separately to environmentally relevant level (20ng/ml) of AFB1 for 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48h in culture...

A simple and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of eleven mycotoxins-aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2; fumonisins B1, B2, and B3; ochratoxin A; zearalenone; deoxynivalenol; and T-2 toxin-in edible oils was established using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In this study, QuEChERS, QuEChERS with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, and solvent extraction were examined for sample preparation. Among these methods, solvent extraction with a mixture of formic acid/acetonitrile (5/95, v/v) successfully extracted all target mycotoxins...

In Nigeria, Aflasafe is a registered biological product for reducing aflatoxin infestation of crops from the field to storage, making the crops safer for consumption. The important questions are whether farmers will purchase and apply this product to reduce aflatoxin contamination of crops, and if so under what conditions. A study was carried out to address these questions and assess determinants of willingness to pay (WTP) for the product among maize and groundnut farmers in Kano and Kaduna states in Nigeria...

The aim of this systematic review is to provide information regarding the incidence and levels of Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in raw and heat processed cow's milk in Serbia during 2015-2016 and to compare these with collected data on the occurrence of AFM1 in raw milk and dairy products during last decade in our region. Estimation of Dietary Exposure (EDI) and Hazard Index (HI) calculations for different age groups of the population were also carried out, based on the AFM1 content of the milk samples and on available food consumption data in Serbia...

Probiotics promote the health of the host by maintaining intestinal microbial homeostasis. This study aimed to investigate the benefits of Lactobacillus plantarum BS22 (LP) in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbial homeostasis of broiler chickens exposed to aflatoxin B1 using the PCR-DGGE, viable count and real-time PCR. The toxin adsorption experiment demonstrated that treatment R5 (1.0 × 10(8) CFU/g LP) exhibited good absorptive effect in adsorbing the aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 ) in vitro. DGGE showed that the composition and structure of gut microbiota were more similar in the mucosa than in the content of all the samples...

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most harmful mycotoxin that occurs as natural contaminant of agricultural commodities, particularly maize. Practical solutions for detoxification of contaminated staples and reduction of agricultural wastes are scarce. We investigated the capability of the white-rot and edible fungus Plerotus eryngii (king oyster mushroom) to degrade AFB1 both in vitro and in a laboratory-scale mushroom cultivation, using a substrate similar to that routinely used in mushroom farms. In malt extract broth, degradation of AFB1 (500 ng/mL) by nine isolates of P...

Previously, a calcium montmorillonite clay (NovaSil) included in diet of animals has been shown to bind aflatoxin B1 (AfB1) and reduce the symptoms of aflatoxicosis. To investigate and improve the capacity and efficacy of clay-based materials as aflatoxin sorbents, we developed and tested calcium and sodium montmorillonite clays amended with nutrients including L-carnitine and choline. Also we determined the sorption of AfB1 by isothermal analysis and tested the ability of these amended sorbents to protect adult hydra from AfB1 toxicity...

Liver-affecting, carcinogenic aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus spp. are a major problem, especially in the humid developing world where storage conditions are often optimal for the fungi. Peanuts and maize have been transformed with RNAi constructs targeting Aspergillus flavus polyketide-synthase, an early key enzyme in aflatoxin biosynthesis. Aflatoxin biosynthesis was suppressed in developing immature grain, less so in late maturing grain, and it is doubtful that the technology will be effective in near dry mature grain...

The microbiological safety of spontaneously fermented foods is not always guaranteed due to the undefined fermenting microbial consortium and processing materials. In this study, two commonly consumed traditional condiments (iru and ogiri) and their respective raw seeds (locust bean and melon) purchased from markets in south-western Nigeria were assessed for bacterial diversity and mycotoxin contamination using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), respectively...

Producing aflatoxin-detoxifizyme (ADTZ) in pigs to control the AFT contamination of pig feed is a new research strategy by transgenic technology. In this study, transgenic pigs specifically expressing ADTZ gene in the parotid gland were successfully produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer technology. The ADTZ activity in saliva of 6 transgenic pigs was found to be 7.11 ± 2.63 U/mL. The feeding trial with aflatoxin (AFT) results showed that there were significant difference about the serum biochemical index such as total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB) contents and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity and AFT residues in serum and liver between the pigs in the test treatment (transgenic pigs) producing ADTZ and those in the positive control (P < 0...

An improved approach for the ultra-trace analysis of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 in edible oils was developed for the first time by a hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) technique. Good linearity, low limits of detection, high enrichment factors and good repeatability were obtained, which ensured the application of the method for ultra-trace detection of AFTs in edible oils.

In nanoflow liquid chromatography-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight (nanoLC-MALDI-TOF/TOF) approaches, it is critical to directly apply small amounts of the sample elutes on the sample target using a nanoLC system due to its low flow rate of 200 ~ 300 nl/min. It is recommended to apply a sheath liquid containing a matrix with a several μL/min flow rate at the end of the nanoLC column to ensure a larger co-eluted droplet for more reproducible sample spotting and avoid the laborious task of post-manual matrix spotting...

Lysine methyltransferases transfer methyl groups in specific lysine sites, which regulates a variety of important biological processes in eukaryotes. In this study, we characterized a novel homolog of the yeast methyltransferase DOT1 in A. flavus, and observed the roles of dot1 in A. flavus. Deletion of dot1 showed a significant decrease in conidiation, but an increase in sclerotia formation. A change in viability to multiple stresses was also found in the Δdot1 mutant. Additionally, aflatoxin (AF) production was found severely impaired in the Δdot1 mutant...

The field of microfluidics holds great promise for the development of simple and portable lab-on-a-chip systems. The use of capillarity as a means of fluidic manipulation in lab-on-a-chip systems can potentially reduce the complexity of the instrumentation and allow the development of user-friendly devices for point-of-need analyses. In this work, a PDMS microchannel-based, colorimetric, autonomous capillary chip provides a multiplexed and semi-quantitative immunodetection assay. Results are acquired using a standard smartphone camera and analyzed with a simple gray scale quantification procedure...