Using mushroom-forming fungi in preventing and reducing mycotoxins in cereal products

Abstract

Background: Biological control for cereal diseases caused by mycotoxigenic fungi is part of the alternative methods to be developed to secure food and feed production, recognizing the negative effects these fungi have on crop yield and their potential production of mycotoxins.
 Objective: Update recent knowledge about the potential of mushroom-forming fungi as biological control agents of mycotoxigenic fungi species, acting as antagonists on crop debris, as source of active extracts with antifungal and/or antimycotoxin properties and as detoxifying agents in solid-state fermentation processes of contaminated cereals.
 Methods: A literature review of the published works was carried out, the main topics were analyzed, as well as the species with the greatest potential of biological control agents of mycotoxingenic fungi.
 Results and conclusions: Mushroom forming fungi could be used as antagonists on crop debris or grains, as sources of active extracts with antifungal and/or antimycotoxin properties, and as detoxifying agents. An integration of these three potentials gives rise to an environment friendly process for production of both safe grains and edible mushrooms.

Methanolic Extracts from Cultivated Mushrooms Affect the Production of Fumonisins B and Fusaric Acid by Fusarium verticillioides

“…A limit to the future development of such extracts as bio-control products could be the production cost and competition with food uses of mushrooms. However, because of their degrading capacities, it is possible to cultivate these mushrooms intended for the production of extracts on contaminated substrates and thus recycle them [35].…”

“…In addition, ethanolic extracts of Hydnum repandum , a mycorrhizal species commonly known as the sweet tooth or hedgehog mushroom and broadly distributed in Europe and Asia, had strong antifungal effects on various Fusarium species, including F. verticillioides [ 41 ]. Nonetheless, to date, there are no previous studies that showed inhibition of F. verticillioides by extracts from A. subrufescens , L. edodes , or P. ostreatus [ 35 ]. The concentration of CEs used in this study was selected based on the previous report of Stojkovic et al [ 39 ], who identified antifungal activity at a concentration around 2 mg mL −1 of a methanolic extract from A. subrufescens (or A. brasiliensis ) fruiting bodies, and after a preliminary concentration-response analysis on both mycelial growth and mycotoxin production, using whole fruiting bodies of A. subrufescens .…”

“…Most of the studies have focused on the inhibition of fungal growth by crude or partially simplified extracts and have not identified specific compounds responsible for their antifungal activity. Only a few of these were conducted to identify the effects of the extracts from these edible mushrooms against mycotoxin production, leaving these organisms untapped sources for preventing and reducing mycotoxins in cereal products [35]. Agaricus subrufescens Peck, Lentinula edodes (Berk.)…”

Recent Research on Fusarium Mycotoxins in Maize—A Review

“…Edible mushrooms are macro fungus with a specific fruiting body, which can be either a Basidiomycete or an Ascomycete , aerial or underground, and large enough to be seen with naked eye and to be collected by hand [ 189 ]. Mushroom oyster or white-rot fungus ( Pleurotus ostreatus ) is one of the most well-known edible mushrooms due to its economic (edible), ecological (bioremediation agents), and medicinal value (antioxidant activity and bio-compounds source) [ 190 , 191 ].…”