Mycotoxins in Cereals and Cereal Products: Occurrence, Toxicity and Detoxification

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 12761

Special Issue Editors

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Interests: mycotoxins; fusarium; aspergillus; penicillium; biological detoxification; toxicity; occurrence; identification; chromatographic analysis
Department of Food Safety and Chemical Analysis, Institute of Agriculture and Food Biotechnology - State Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: mycotoxins; modified mycotoxins; toxicity; occurrence; identyfication; analysis; food processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Foods, entitled “Mycotoxins in Cereals and Cereal Products: Occurrence, Toxicity and Detoxification”, aims to highlight the most recent reports on all aspects of mycotoxins. Experts from the fields of plant pathology, agronomy, toxicology, analytical chemistry, and molecular biology are invited to contribute their findings in the form of full research articles, short communications, or focused reviews to increase existing knowledge on this important group of secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi—mycotoxins.

Many Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium species are potent mycotoxin producers, which categorizes them as some of the most devastating and dangerous plant pathogens worldwide. Mycotoxins exert toxic effects, referred to as mycotoxicoses, on humans and animals, as well as negative economic impacts on agriculture and its associated industries. It is estimated that almost a third of the world’s food supply is contaminated with mycotoxins.

Therefore, it is also essential to show the state of the art and directions for growth with respect to innovative strategies aiming to prevent mycotoxin contamination at each stage of cereal production—for example, good agriculture practice (GAP), the use of beneficial organisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and yeasts), or natural plant bioactive compounds increasing food safety during all stages of production, from the field to consumers.

Prof. Dr. Agnieszka Waśkiewicz
Prof. Dr. Marcin Bryła
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • mycotoxins
  • Fusarium
  • Aspergillus
  • Penicillium
  • modified mycotoxins
  • cereals
  • cereal products
  • occurrence
  • toxicity
  • detoxification
  • biological methods
  • analysis
  • food processing
  • identification
  • chromatographic analysis

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2075 KiB  
Article
Variation in Tocochromanols Level and Mycotoxins Content in Sweet Maize Cultivars after Inoculation with Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum
by Agnieszka Waśkiewicz, Małgorzata Muzolf-Panek, Łukasz Stępień, Elżbieta Czembor, Pascaline Aimee Uwineza, Paweł Górnaś and Marcin Bryła
Foods 2022, 11(18), 2781; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11182781 - 09 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1121
Abstract
A major problem in maize production is the contamination of the grain with Fusarium spp., mainly F. proliferatum and F. verticillioides and their secondary metabolites—mycotoxins. Under biotic stress conditions, caused by a fungal pathogen, plants initiate a series of defense mechanisms that may [...] Read more.
A major problem in maize production is the contamination of the grain with Fusarium spp., mainly F. proliferatum and F. verticillioides and their secondary metabolites—mycotoxins. Under biotic stress conditions, caused by a fungal pathogen, plants initiate a series of defense mechanisms that may cause quantitative and qualitative changes in the composition of phenolic compounds. We analyzed the resistance of four sweet maize cultivars (Syngenta Group: Overland, Sweetstar, GSS 8529, Shinerock) to the infection with Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum isolates, along with fumonisins B1, B2, and B3 grain contamination and the levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols accumulated. Differences in ear rot levels were found between the cultivars and isolates used. The phenotypic evaluation positively correlated with the concentrations of fumonisins. The results obtained also indicate a significant dependence on tocochromanols content in sweet maize cultivars tested on the infection of plants with Fusarium isolates and fumonisin biosynthesis. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms of the plant reaction and the effect of different levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols on Fusarium resistance and grain contamination with mycotoxins. Full article
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18 pages, 925 KiB  
Article
Screening of Mycotoxigenic Fungi in Barley and Barley Malt (Hordeum vulgare L.) Using Real-Time PCR—A Comparison between Molecular Diagnostic and Culture Technique
by Marina Bretträger, Thomas Becker and Martina Gastl
Foods 2022, 11(8), 1149; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11081149 - 15 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2284
Abstract
Filamentous fungi have a crucial impact on the food safety and technological quality of malting barley. Commonly used techniques for the detection of seed-borne fungi are based on cultivation and identification by morphological criteria. In contrast, this study established a quantitative real-time polymerase [...] Read more.
Filamentous fungi have a crucial impact on the food safety and technological quality of malting barley. Commonly used techniques for the detection of seed-borne fungi are based on cultivation and identification by morphological criteria. In contrast, this study established a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay based on SYBR green technology for the detection and quantification of black fungal species (Alternaria spp., Epicoccum nigrum, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium verrucosum and Aspergillus niger) on brewing barley and compares it with the traditional cultivation technique and visual assessment. To screen the fungal spectrum over different barley varieties and harvest years, naturally infected samples of malting barley and corresponding malts (Hordeum vulgare L.) were analyzed over four consecutive years (2018–2021), grown under different climatic conditions in Germany. Alternaria and Cladosporium spp. DNA were present in all examined barley samples, even without visible contamination. In contrast, detection via culture-based methods does not reliably cover all species. Molecular analysis showed that there was less fungal biomass after malting, by 58.57% in the case of A. alternata, by 28.27% for Cladosporium spp. and by 12.79% for Epicoccum nigrum. Correlation analysis showed no causal relationship between fungal DNA and the number of black kernels. The qPCR provides a highly sensitive and time-saving screening method for detecting latent fungal infections in brewing grains to identify batches that are potentially highly contaminated with toxigenic fungi. Full article
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12 pages, 293 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Human Mycotoxin Exposure in Hungary by Urinary Biomarker Determination and the Uncertainties of the Exposure Calculation: A Case Study
by Judit Szabó-Fodor, Mária Szeitzné-Szabó, Brigitta Bóta, Tamás Schieszl, Cserne Angeli, Lucia Gambacorta, Michele Solfrizzo, András Szabó and Melinda Kovács
Foods 2022, 11(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11010015 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2322
Abstract
Urinary biomarkers of mycotoxin exposure were evaluated in the case of healthy people (n = 41) and coeliac patients (n = 19) by using a multi-biomarker LC-MS/MS immunoaffinity based method capable to analyse biomarkers of nine mycotoxins, i.e., fumonisin B1 (FB1), [...] Read more.
Urinary biomarkers of mycotoxin exposure were evaluated in the case of healthy people (n = 41) and coeliac patients (n = 19) by using a multi-biomarker LC-MS/MS immunoaffinity based method capable to analyse biomarkers of nine mycotoxins, i.e., fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), ochratoxin A (OTA), Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and Nivalenol (NIV). Urinary biomarker concentrations were used to calculate the probable daily intake (PDI) of fumonisin B1, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and ochratoxin A and compared with their tolerable daily intake (TDI). The human urinary excretion rate values reported in the literature and the 24 h excretion rate measured in piglets were used to estimate and compare the PDI values of the four mycotoxins. The highest mean biomarker concentrations were found for DON (2.30 ng/mL for healthy people and 2.68 ng/mL for coeliac patients). Mean OTA concentration was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in healthy people compared to coeliac patients. PDI calculated with piglets excretion data exceeded the TDI values by a much smaller percentage than when they were calculated from human data, especially for FB1. The uncertainties arising from the different calculations can be well perceived on the basis of these data. Full article
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12 pages, 923 KiB  
Article
Determination of Multiple Mycotoxins and Their Natural Occurrence in Edible Vegetable Oils Using Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry
by Thammaporn Junsai, Saranya Poapolathep, Samak Sutjarit, Mario Giorgi, Zhaowei Zhang, Antonio Francesco Logrieco, Peiwu Li and Amnart Poapolathep
Foods 2021, 10(11), 2795; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10112795 - 13 Nov 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2138
Abstract
The prevalence of mycotoxins is often increased by the climatic conditions prevailing in tropical regions. Reports have revealed the contamination of mycotoxins in some types of vegetable oil. However, vegetable oil is one of the essential ingredients used in food preparation. Thus, this [...] Read more.
The prevalence of mycotoxins is often increased by the climatic conditions prevailing in tropical regions. Reports have revealed the contamination of mycotoxins in some types of vegetable oil. However, vegetable oil is one of the essential ingredients used in food preparation. Thus, this study determined the occurrence of multi-mycotoxins in six types of vegetable oils commercially available in Thailand to assess the consumer health risk. In total, 300 vegetable oil samples (olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and rice bran oil) collected from various markets in Thailand were analyzed for the presence of nine mycotoxins, namely, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1), aflatoxin G2 (AFG2), beauvericin (BEA), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisin B1 (FB1), and fumonisin B2 (FB2) using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS)-based procedure and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source. The incidences of mycotoxin contamination varied among the different types of oil samples. AFB1, AFB2, ZEA, FB1, and FB2 were most frequently found in contaminated samples. AFB2, BEA, ZEA, FB1, and FB2 contaminated olive oil samples, whereas AFB1, AFB2, AFG2, and OTA contaminated palm oil samples. AFB1, AFB2, and ZEA were found in soybean oils, whereas ZEA, FB1, and FB2 contaminated corn oil samples. AFB1 and AFG1 contaminated sunflower oil samples, whereas AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and OTA were detected in rice bran oil samples. However, the contamination levels of the analyzed mycotoxins were below the regulatory limits. Full article
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Review

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32 pages, 689 KiB  
Review
Recent Research on Fusarium Mycotoxins in Maize—A Review
by Marcin Bryła, Adam Pierzgalski, Agnieszka Zapaśnik, Pascaline Aimee Uwineza, Edyta Ksieniewicz-Woźniak, Marta Modrzewska and Agnieszka Waśkiewicz
Foods 2022, 11(21), 3465; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11213465 - 01 Nov 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3874
Abstract
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most susceptible crops to pathogenic fungal infections, and in particular to the Fusarium species. Secondary metabolites of Fusarium spp.—mycotoxins are not only phytotoxic, but also harmful to humans and animals. They can cause acute [...] Read more.
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most susceptible crops to pathogenic fungal infections, and in particular to the Fusarium species. Secondary metabolites of Fusarium spp.—mycotoxins are not only phytotoxic, but also harmful to humans and animals. They can cause acute or chronic diseases with various toxic effects. The European Union member states apply standards and legal regulations on the permissible levels of mycotoxins in food and feed. This review summarises the most recent knowledge on the occurrence of toxic secondary metabolites of Fusarium in maize, taking into account modified forms of mycotoxins, the progress in research related to the health effects of consuming food or feed contaminated with mycotoxins, and also the development of biological methods for limiting and/or eliminating the presence of the same in the food chain and in compound feed. Full article
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