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Advances in the Detection, Characterization and Reduction of Mycotoxins in...
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Advances in the Detection, Characterization and Reduction of Mycotoxins in Food

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Toxicology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 2216

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Leili Afsah-Hejri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Safety and Quality, College of Business and Science, Lakeland University, Plymouth, WI, USA
Interests: food safety; mycotoxins; sensors; post-harvest technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mycotoxins, toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi, pose a significant threat to global food safety and security. Among the various mycotoxins, aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and patulin are of particular concern due to their severe health risks. These contaminants can lead to acute toxicity or chronic conditions such as cancer, liver damage, reproductive disorders, and the suppression of the immune system.

Mycotoxin contamination is a significant concern worldwide, as mycotoxin-producing fungi can infect a broad range of food and agricultural products. These fungi proliferate under favorable conditions of temperature and humidity and result in the formation of mycotoxin in food. Economically, mycotoxins significantly burden both growers and the food industry by increasing crop loss, reducing the marketability of products, and contributing to global trade restrictions and food insecurity. Therefore, regulatory bodies around the world enforce stringent mycotoxin limits, with the European Union having the strictest regulations.

The food industry’s priorities now focus on strategies for the control, early detection, and reduction of mycotoxins, with growing interest in non-destructive, environmentally friendly, and sustainable methods. With these considerations in mind, I have agreed to guest edit this Special Issue of Foods entitled 'Advances in the Detection, Characterization, and Reduction of Mycotoxins in Food'. This Special Issue aims to compile cutting-edge and innovative research on mycotoxins from researchers and scientists across various disciplines. We welcome the submission of original research articles, case studies, and reviews that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Rapid detection technologies
  • Characterization methods
  • Mitigation strategies
  • Innovative approaches for reducing the mycotoxin levels in food

Dr. Leili Afsah-Hejri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and patulin)
  • food safety
  • good agricultural practices (GAPs)
  • rapid detection and sensors
  • mitigation strategies
  • environmentally friendly strategies
  • Aspergillus
  • Penicillium
  • Fusarium
  • Claviceps

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3048 KiB  
Article
Development of an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Based on a Monoclonal Antibody for the Rapid Detection of Citrinin in Wine
by Xingdong Yang, Yang Qu, Chenchen Wang, Lihua Wu and Xiaofei Hu
Foods 2025, 14(1), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14010027 - 25 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 731
Abstract
The ingestion of food contaminated with citrinin (CIT) poses a variety of health risks to humans and animals. The immunogens (CIT-COOH-BSA, CIT-H-BSA) and detection antigen (CIT-COOH-OVA, CIT-H-OVA) were synthesised using the active ester method (-COOH) and formaldehyde addition method (-H). A hybridoma cell [...] Read more.
The ingestion of food contaminated with citrinin (CIT) poses a variety of health risks to humans and animals. The immunogens (CIT-COOH-BSA, CIT-H-BSA) and detection antigen (CIT-COOH-OVA, CIT-H-OVA) were synthesised using the active ester method (-COOH) and formaldehyde addition method (-H). A hybridoma cell line (3G5) that secretes anti-CIT monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was screened via CIT-H-BSA immunisation of mice, cell fusion, and ELISA screening technology. The cell line was injected intraperitoneally to prepare ascites. The reaction conditions for the indirect competitive ELISA (ic-ELISA) were optimised, and an ic-ELISA method for detecting CIT was preliminarily established. The results revealed that the IC50 of CIT from optimised ic-ELISA was 37 pg/mL, the linear detection range was 5.9~230 pg/mL, and the cross-reaction (CR) rate with other analogues was less than 0.01%. The intra-assay and interassay sample recovery rates of CIT were 84.7~92.0% and 83.6~91.6%, and the coefficients of variation (CVs) were less than 10%. The ic-ELISA of CIT established in this study was not significantly different from the HPLC results and is rapid, highly sensitive and strongly specific, providing technical support for the detection of CIT. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Detection, Characterization and Reduction of Mycotoxins in Food)
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11 pages, 2116 KiB  
Article
Enzymatic Oxidation of Aflatoxin M1 in Milk Using CotA Laccase
by Yongpeng Guo, Hao Lv, Zhiyong Rao, Zhixiang Wang, Wei Zhang, Yu Tang and Lihong Zhao
Foods 2024, 13(22), 3702; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13223702 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 931
Abstract
Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk poses a significant threat to human health. This study examined the capacity of Bacillus licheniformis CotA laccase to oxidize AFM1. The optimal conditions for the CotA laccase-catalyzed AFM1 oxidation were observed at [...] Read more.
Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk poses a significant threat to human health. This study examined the capacity of Bacillus licheniformis CotA laccase to oxidize AFM1. The optimal conditions for the CotA laccase-catalyzed AFM1 oxidation were observed at pH 8.0 and 70 °C, achieving an AFM1 oxidation rate of 86% in 30 min. The Km and Vmax values for CotA laccase with respect to AFM1 were 18.91 μg mL−1 and 9.968 μg min−1 mg−1, respectively. Computational analysis suggested that AFM1 interacted with CotA laccase via hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions. Moreover, the oxidation products of AFM1 mediated by CotA laccase were identified as the C3-hydroxy derivatives of AFM1 by HPLC-FLD and UPLC-TOF/MS. Toxicological assessment revealed that the hepatotoxicity of AFM1 was substantially reduced following oxidation by CotA laccase. The efficacy of CotA laccase in removing AFM1 in milk was further tested, and the result showed that the enzyme agent achieved an AFM1 removal rate of 83.5% in skim milk and 65.1% in whole milk. These findings suggested that CotA laccase was a novel AFM1 oxidase capable of eliminating AFM1 in milk. More effort is still needed to improve the AFM1 oxidase activity of CotA laccase in order to shorten the processing time when applying the enzyme in the milk industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Detection, Characterization and Reduction of Mycotoxins in Food)
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