Occurrence of toxigenic Aspergillus spp. and aflatoxins in selected food commodities of Asian origin sourced in the West of Scotland

Ruadrew, Sayan; Craft, John A.; Aidoo, Kofi E.

doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.02.001

Cited by 50 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“… Fresh fruits, mouldy cheeses and smoked foods have been found to be contaminated with yeasts, including Candida , Trichosporon and Saccharomyces species as well as filamentous fungi ( Cladosporium , Alternaria , Penicillium , Aspergillus and Mucorales spp.) . Thus, their consumption should be restricted in episodes of profound neutropenia (Table ). Specifically on fresh fruits, avoid consumption except for thick‐skinned fruits such as raw bananas, grapefruits or oranges, which will need to be washed in cold water and peeled.…”

Section: General Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Our recommendations for avoiding exposure to fungi outside the hospital for patients with haematological cancers

Ariza-Heredia¹,

Kontoyiannis

2014

Mycoses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite several chemotherapeutic and preventative advances, opportunistic fungal infections remain common unintended consequences of cancer treatment. Currently, cancer patients spend most of their time between treatments at home, where they can inadvertently come across potential hazards from environmental and food sources. Therefore, infection prevention measures are of the utmost importance for these patients. Although clinicians closely observe patients throughout their treatment courses in the hospital, the focus of clinical visits is predominantly on cancer care, and clinicians seldom provide recommendations for prevention of such infections. Herein, we provide practical recommendations for busy clinicians to help them educate patients regarding potential sources of fungal infections outside the hospital.

show abstract

Section: General Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Our recommendations for avoiding exposure to fungi outside the hospital for patients with haematological cancers

Ariza-Heredia¹,

Kontoyiannis

2014

Mycoses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Importantly, the toxigenic A. flavus produces various harmful secondary metabolites (SMs) when spoiling foodstuffs, among which aflatoxins (AFs) are the most notorious and carcinogenic mycotoxin [3,4]. Foodstuff contaminated with a low dose of AFs that is ingested chronically by animal or human could pose liver cancer, while ingestion of a high dose of AFs contaminating foodstuffs is poisonous and even fatal [5][6][7][8]. Adding to AFs, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), aflatrem, and kojic acid (KA) were also identified in A. flavus [9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Profiling of Volatile Compounds Reveals Metabolic Changes in a Non-Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus Induced by 5-Azacytidine

Song

Geng

Wang

et al. 2020

Toxins

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aspergillus flavus is one of the most opportunistic pathogens invading many important oilseed crops and foodstuffs with such toxic secondary metabolites as aflatoxin (AF) and Cyclopiazonic acid. We previously used the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine to treat with an AF-producing A. flavus A133 strain, and isolated a mutant (NT) of A. flavus, which displayed impaired abilities of AF biosynthesis and fungal development. In this study, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was used to reveal the metabolic changes between these two strains. A total of 1181 volatiles were identified in these two strains, among which 490 volatiles were found in these two strains in vitro and 332 volatiles were found in vivo. The NT mutant was found to produce decreasing volatile compounds, among which most of the fatty acid-derived volatiles were significantly downregulated in the NT mutant compared to the A133 strain, which are important precursors for AF biosynthesis. Two antioxidants and most of the amino acids derived volatiles were found significantly upregulated in the NT mutant. Overall, our results reveal the difference of metabolic profiles in two different A. flavus isolates, which may provide valuable information for controlling infections of this fungal pathogen.

show abstract

“…Once excreted from the fungi the mycotoxins act independently; therefore, treating the fungi post‐secretion will not reduce the mycotoxin concentration or effect (Kuiper‐Goodman, ; Marin et al, ). Furthermore, unlike the fungi that produce them, mycotoxins are extremely stable; they are heat resistant with melting temperatures above 250°C and tolerate a wide pH range from 3 to 10 (Al‐Zoreky & Saleh, ; Ruadrew, Craft, & Aidoo, ; Suarez‐Bonnet et al, ). These characteristics highlight the need for constant monitoring and regulation of mycotoxins and mycotoxin‐producing fungi through all stages of food production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on the relation between soil and mycotoxins: Effect of aflatoxin on field, food and finance

Winter

Pereg

2019

European J Soil Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil phytopathogenic fungi are principally associated with crop diseases; however, the effects of fungal infection may extend beyond the field to human and animal consumers putting their health at risk. Mycotoxigenic fungi can produce secondary metabolites known as mycotoxins, which are considered to be toxic when present in human food and animal feed. Mycotoxins are characterized as odourless and tasteless compounds, thus their identification in food is difficult. Furthermore, mycotoxins are heat resistant and tolerate a wide range of pH, making them hard to breakdown. In this review we follow the fates of mycotoxins from the ecology of their producers in the soil to pre‐harvest occurrence in host plants, postharvest in storage and their effect on human well‐being, focusing on aflatoxin as a case study. Aflatoxin production begins in the soil, the natural habitat of toxin‐producing fungi of the Aspergillus spp., and its production is influenced by agricultural practices, environmental conditions and fungal interaction with the plant. The fungi are further dispersed during storage, which leads to a vast increase in toxin concentration during the storage period. Aflatoxin may then be consumed by humans or animals in raw or processed foods and feeds, respectively. Animal consumption of the toxin might carry over to humans in animal food products, such as milk. Once consumed, various forms of aflatoxin are recognized as human carcinogens and exposure is mainly associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. The presence of mycotoxins in foods also carries severe economic implications because of the loss of crops, the cost of analysis and enforcement of a regulatory system. This review provides a critical analysis of each of these stages and highlights the importance of understanding soil–fungal–plant interactions as key steps in the development of successful strategies to minimize mycotoxin exposure. Highlights Mycotoxins are produced by soil‐borne fungi during pre‐ and post‐harvest stages. Mycotoxins reach human diet directly by contamination of foods or indirectly through animal feeds. Chronic and acute exposure to mycotoxins is a major health hazard. Economic impact from mycotoxin contamination exceeds US$1 billion.

show abstract

Occurrence of toxigenic Aspergillus spp. and aflatoxins in selected food commodities of Asian origin sourced in the West of Scotland

Cited by 50 publications

References 27 publications

Our recommendations for avoiding exposure to fungi outside the hospital for patients with haematological cancers

Our recommendations for avoiding exposure to fungi outside the hospital for patients with haematological cancers

Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Profiling of Volatile Compounds Reveals Metabolic Changes in a Non-Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus Induced by 5-Azacytidine

A review on the relation between soil and mycotoxins: Effect of aflatoxin on field, food and finance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About