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INTRODUCTION Aflatoxins (AFs) in food and feed are recognized as a public health problem of considerable importance. Williams et al. (2004) estimated that 4.5 billion of the world’s population is exposed to AFs. Because security blankets in crops at pre-harvest and post-harvest level are not as strict as in developed countries, populations of developing countries are the most susceptible to aflatoxicosis illness (Williams et al., 2004). The same problem occurs with milk...
Introduction Aflatoxins are toxic, secondary metabolites synthesized by some fungi species in the genus Aspergillus, mainly those belonging to the species A. flavus, A. nomius, and A. parasiticus (Ismaiel et al., 2020). Aflatoxins are considered the most important mycotoxins, given their carcinogenic and hepatotoxic effects on animals and humans (Bhat et al., 2010). Among several types of aflatoxins, the most frequent ones found as natural contaminants of foodstuffs are aflatoxins...
Are Your Feeds Safe? This growing season has been a challenge across the upper Midwest. Whether your crops have been hit with drought or hail the odds are that we are going to see an increase potential for feed contaminants such nitrates or molds which cause mycotoxins. This article focuses on mycotoxins and how to manage them. Mycotoxins: Common Questions What is the difference between molds and mycotoxins? Molds...
1. Introduction Aspergillus is soil fungal species that have been recognized as a major contaminant of different grains utilized for poultry diets [1]. They grow rapidly under high moisture conditions and produce biologically active hepatotoxic aflatoxins [2]. Maize, cereals like rice, wheat, pistachios, cottonseed, copra groundnuts, and many other feed stuffs are contaminated by these fungal species [3–5]. Aflatoxin actually covers three words in accordance...
1. Introduction Traditionally, beer industry by-product (brewer’s grain) is used as a feedstuff intended for swine in the central region of Argentina. Worldwide, fungal contamination of foods and feeds, with consequent mycotoxin production, is a significant problem. Previous studies performed in Brazil determined the fungal flora as well as the presence of different mycotoxins in brewer’s grain and barley rootlets [1, 2]. Aflatoxins (AFs) are highly carcinogenic and...
Introduction Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi. They are unavoidable contaminants in foods and feeds, exerting harmful effects upon animal and human health 39 . The most important mycotoxins in naturally contaminated foods and feeds are aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxins, zearalenone, T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol and fumonisins 7,32 . Aflatoxin contaminated feeds are a severe threat to both livestock productivity and human health and cause...
Introduction: The use of industry by-products and few other feed ingredients as feedstuff for swine is a regular practice and usually increases animal performances, hence making it more economical. The occurrence of aflatoxin contamination is global, causing severe problems especially in developing countries. Due to the insidious nature of aflatoxin production and the resulting disease states which made diagnosis of aflatoxin difficult; many cases of animal aflatoxicosis...
Introduction: Because of natural occurrence of mycotoxins in the finished food and grains used for the formulation of rations of various species, mycotoxicosis is considered a critical problem in swine feed production. Facing the difficulty of detection of mycotoxins in the finished food or raw material, it is important to increase the sampling frequency, because the effect of the mycotoxins is cumulative as the consumption of contaminated grains or contaminated food to...
1. Introduction Moulds have long been raising health issues in humans, animals as well as in plants; and they continue to be of major concern to public health and a considerable burden to the worldwide economy [1]. In addition to mycoses, they produce a myriad of poisonous toxins (mycotoxins) causing debilitating acute and chronic diseases in humans and animals. Moulds and their toxins have been the source of recurring disasters throughout the history of the mankind, but the...
1. INTRODUCTION Mycotoxins, toxins produced by fungi on various food and feed products such as cereals and nuts, present a worldwide food and feed safety concern, which can lead to several health problems in humans and animals, as well as major economic losses for farmers, the industry, and society (Marin, Ramos, Cano-Sancho, & Sanchis, 2013). The Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that approximately one quarter of all cereal products worldwide are contaminated...
You may not have heard of the fungus Aspergillus, but the farmers who produce your food are certainly aware of it. Aflatoxin is a toxic, carcinogenic compound produced by some Aspergillus species and found in several agricultural commodities, such as corn, cotton seeds, and nuts. It can also be found in soil, decaying...
1. Introduction Aflatoxins are the mycotoxins of the greatest concern to food safety due to their wide distribution in foods and feeds and their high toxicities. Since their discovery, aflatoxins have been associated with liver cancer, with peanut, maize and their derivatives being the main vehicles. Geographically, tropical and subtropical regions are the most affected by aflatoxins as food and feed contaminants and as chemical hazards that contribute greatly to the...
Aflatoxins (AFs) are a group of small molecular weight fungal toxins that threaten world food safety by contaminating ~25% of the world’s crops. AFs are considered to be an unavoidable contaminant in human food and animal feed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Among AFs, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most potent carcinogen present in nature and is produced mainly by the ubiquitous soil filamentous fungus Aspergillus flavus. AFs are acutely toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic,...
1. Introduction Aflatoxins are undoubtedly the most studied mycotoxins in Mozambique, especially aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ). This is due to records of local epidemiological associations between this toxin and hepatic cancer [1], and export restrictions of contaminated groundnuts and maize [2]. There are reports on fumonisins and other toxins [3,4], but these are few compared to the information on AFB 1 . Yet, there is still a need for surveys on...
1. Introduction In Uganda, maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important crops in terms of production, consumption, and income generation. Because of its relevance, maize was one of the food security crops–and the only cereal–selected by the Ministry of Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda to implement a 5-year, multi-million USD agricultural intervention as part of the Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP) during 2010–2015 (MAAIF, 2010). The...
1. Introduction Throughout the world, dietary starch and proteins are mainly obtained from cereals [1]. Other nutritional components of cereals include fiber, non-starch carbohydrates, lipids, minerals and vitamins [2]. Because of their high nutritive values, good health effects and their availability, cereals have been an essential source of human food for millions of years [3]. In the year 2022, estimated cereal production is 2799 million tons, with a high proportion of coarse...
INTRODUCTION Impact of the presence of toxigenic fungi in the embryonic egg In practice, 100 % yield can seldom be achieved in egg incubation for “broiler” chicken production (Manders et al., 2021). There are many factors that affect the incubation process and it is essential to know how to do a good analysis of all the available data to know what the problem is and to propose “organic” alternatives that do not modify the percentage yield of...
1. Introduction Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is the main metabolite of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), which is one of the four most common variants of Aflatoxins (AFs) [1–6]. There is sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of AFM1 alone or mixed with AFB1 and Aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) [7], although of lower potency than AFB1 [8,9]. When cattle ingest food or feed contaminated by AFs, it is estimated that up to 6.2 % of the content of AFB1 is transformed into AFM1 and excreted in milk...
1. Introduction Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), it is one of five principal metabolites results from the hydroxylation process of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Reaction of enzyme oxidase is associated to cytochrome P 450 of the microsomes within the hepatocytes [1–6]. During this oxidative process, AFB1 is successively transformed into two intermediates, Aflatoxicol (AFL) and Aflatoxicol M1, before turning into AFM1, and in this form it is excreted through milk or eggs [3]. Some...