Yesterday masked, today modified; what do mycotoxins bring next?

Abstract

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic fungi in crops worldwide. In (micro)organisms such as plants, fungi, bacteria, or animals they may be further metabolised and modified, but this is also true for food processing, which may lead to a wide range of masked mycotoxin forms. These often remain undetected by analytical methods and are the culprits for underestimates in risk assessments. Furthermore, once ingested, modified mycotoxins can convert back to their parent forms. This concern has raised the need for analytical methods that can detect and quantify modified mycotoxins as essential for accurate risk assessment. The promising answer is liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. New masked mycotoxin forms are now successfully detected by iontrap, time-of-flight, or high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometers. However, the toxicological relevance of modified mycotoxins has not been fully clarified.

Multiple Fungal Metabolites Including Mycotoxins in Naturally Infected and Fusarium-Inoculated Wheat Samples

“…The modified mycotoxin, D3G was detected and quantified in both inoculated and naturally-infected samples. D3G, one of the several masked mycotoxins, is a phase II plant metabolite of the Fusarium mycotoxin DON [43], which can be hydrolyzed in the digestive tract of mammals, thus contributing to the total dietary DON exposure of individuals [20].…”

The Efficacy of Composite Essential Oils against Aflatoxigenic Fungus Aspergillus flavus in Maize

“…Cereals contaminated with mycotoxins are not only harmful to animal and human health, but also cause substantial economic losses [6]. The most common toxigenic fungi in animal feed are Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium [7][8][9]. Of these, fungi within Aspergillus section Flavi, particularly A. flavus, have received the most attention, as they include the most frequently detected species that produces aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) [10,11].…”

Fullerol C60(OH)24 Nanoparticles Affect Secondary Metabolite Profile of Important Foodborne Mycotoxigenic Fungi In Vitro

“…According to Eskola et al [15], global mycotoxin prevalence is up to 60%-80%, and such a high occurrence can be explained by a combination of improved sensitivity in analytical methods, and the impact of climate change. The most relevant foodborne mycotoxin producing fungi belong the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, Alternaria and Penicillium [16,17], and maximum levels of secondary metabolites produced by these genera are regulated by the European Union in the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 [18] and the Commission Recommendation 2013/165/EU [19].…”

“…Furthermore, plants and fungi can biologically modify mycotoxins by conjugation, while modifications are also possible during food processing. Today these processes contribute, at a significant rate, to food and feed contamination [16]. Accordingly, the European Food Safety Authority is trying to assess exposure and the effects on human and animal health by generating a more accurate database on the occurrence of modified mycotoxins in food and feed [20,21].…”