Enniatin B and beauvericin are common in Danish cereals and show high hepatotoxicity on a high‐content imaging platform

Abstract

Mycotoxins are fungi-born metabolites that can contaminate foods through mould-infected crops. They are a significant food/feed-safety issue across the globe and represent a substantial financial burden for the world economy. Moreover, with a changing climate and fungal biota, there is now much discussion about emerging mycotoxins that are measurable at significant levels in crops world-wide. Unfortunately, we still know very little about the bioavailability and toxic potentials of many of these less characterized mycotoxins, including the large family of enniatins. In this study, we present new occurrence data for enniatin A, A1, B, B1 and beauvericin in four Danish crops: oat, wheat, and barley from the 2010 harvest, and rye from 2011 harvest. The occurrence of the four enniatins were B > B1 > A1 > A. Enniatin B was detected in 100% of tested samples regardless of crop type. In addition to occurrence data, we report a proof-of-concept study using a human-relevant high-content hepatotoxicity, or "quadroprobe," assay to screen mycotoxins for their cytotoxic potential. The assay was sensitive for most cytotoxic compounds in the 0.009-100 µM range. Among eight tested mycotoxins (enniatin B, beauvericin, altenariol, deoxynivalenol, aflatoxin B1, andrastin A, citrinin, and penicillic acid), enniatin B and beauvericin showed significant cytotoxicity at a concentration lower than that for aflatoxin B1, which is the archetypal acute hepatotoxic and liver-carcinogenic mycotoxin. Hence, the quadroprobe hepatotoxicity assay may become a valuable assessment tool for toxicity assessment of mycotoxins in the future. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 1658-1664, 2017.

Impact of fungicides and weather on cyclodepsipeptide‐producing Fusarium spp. and beauvericin and enniatin levels in wheat grains

“…This high incidence is in concordance with other European studies in Romania, Italy, Poland, Finland, Denmark and Norway. 6,[18][19][20][21][22][23] As suggested by Uhlig et al, 24 the order of ENNs regarding incidence and concentration levels was ENN B > B1 > A1 > A. In our study, ENN B was the mycotoxin with 100% prevalence (in 2016) and the highest maximum concentration.…”

“…The presence of several ENNs in the same sample should thus be considered for their potential health risks to both humans and domestic animals in view of their toxicity even when low amounts are found. 6 Although Fusarium species (like F. poae) have been reported to produce ENNs and BEA simultaneously, 32 we did not observed a clear co-occurrence of ENNs and BEA, while this co-occurrence had been previously reported in several cereals. 19,33 BEA and ENNs share the major part of their biosynthesis pathway although some differences are observed in the Esn1 gene (enniatin synthase gene 1) of BEA and ENN producers.…”

“…Our study demonstrates that ENN B and ENN B1 are present in higher concentrations compared to BEA and the other ENNs. The presence of several ENNs in the same sample should thus be considered for their potential health risks to both humans and domestic animals in view of their toxicity even when low amounts are found …”

“…A recent proof-of-concept study, using a human-relevant high-content hepatotoxicity assay, showed that enniatin B (ENN B) and BEA revealed significant cytotoxicity at a concentration lower than that for aflatoxin B1, which is the archetypal acute hepatotoxic and liver carcinogenic mycotoxin. 6 These new toxicological insights support the emerging nature of these mycotoxins.…”

A Review of the Mycotoxin Enniatin B

“…Similar ENN B concentrations (195.5 ± 47.0 µg/kg) were observed in cereal samples collected from European and African countries ( 26 ). Svingen et al ( 27 ) demonstrated the ENN B presence in all of the samples of Danish grain collected during the 2010 and 2011 harvests, with the highest value of 3,900 µg/kg detected in rye sample. A survey in Finland showed that ENNs were frequently detected in unprocessed grains including wheat, barley, rye, and oats, and that the maximum concentration was found for ENN B (10,280 µg/kg) in a barley sample ( 28 ).…”