Special Issue "Human Biomonitoring and Risk Assessment of Mycotoxins"

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Mycotoxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marcel Mengelers
E-Mail
Guest Editor
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Department of Food Safety, P.O. Box 1, NL-3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Interests: human biomonitoring; risk assessment; food contaminants; combined exposure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Humans are exposed to mycotoxins predominantly via food (including beverages). However, occupational exposure to mycotoxins may also occur, e.g., via inhalation of contaminated, airborne dust in occupational settings. To date, numerous mycotoxins have been identified, sometimes even in different forms, e.g., the so-called ‘hidden’ or modified mycotoxins. It is often technically demanding to analyse the presence of all (forms of) mycotoxins in numerous raw agricultural commodities, food products or airborne dust. Therefore, the exposure assessments of mycotoxins are frequently hampered by a lack of, or outdated, occurrence data. To overcome this issue, human biomonitoring (HBM) can be used as a tool to complement external exposure assessments. In HBM studies, the internal exposure to a compound is determined by measuring exposure biomarkers (like the parent compound and/or main metabolite(s)) in a biological matrix, such as blood or urine. In addition, (the onset of) a negative human health effect may be identified (early) by measuring effect biomarkers in biological matrices.

In terms of risk assessment, concentrations of exposure biomarkers in biological matrices can be compared with HBM guidance values, if available. Alternatively, toxicokinetic models may be used to estimate external exposure levels from internal concentrations, allowing the comparison of the extrapolated external exposure with health-based guidance values, such as a tolerable daily intake. Comparing (internal or external) exposure data from both approaches with guidance values will allow the assessment of possible risks to human health.

In order to base the mycotoxin risk assessment on HBM data, there is a need to validate existing or develop new (effect or exposure) biomarkers, analytical methods and toxicokinetic models for mycotoxins. For this Special Issue we are inviting researchers to submit novel studies and review articles that may enhance the use of human biomonitoring in the risk assessment of mycotoxins.

The editorial team for this Special Issue consists of Dr. Marcel Mengelers and Dr. Annick van den Brand (RIVM), Dr. Paula Alvito and Dr. Maria João Silva from the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

Dr. Marcel Mengelers
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 papers will be 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 double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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
  • human biomonitoring
  • risk assessment
  • biomarkers
  • dietary exposure
  • occupational exposure

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Analysis of Aflatoxin Biomarkers in the Hair of Experimental Animals
Toxins 2021, 13(8), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13080570 - 16 Aug 2021
Viewed by 375
Abstract
Analysis of body fluids and tissues of aflatoxin exposed individuals for the presence of aflatoxins and aflatoxin metabolites has emerged as a reliable indicator of exposure and metabolism of aflatoxins. However, current aflatoxin biomarkers are not appropriate for investigating the long-term effects of [...] Read more.
Analysis of body fluids and tissues of aflatoxin exposed individuals for the presence of aflatoxins and aflatoxin metabolites has emerged as a reliable indicator of exposure and metabolism of aflatoxins. However, current aflatoxin biomarkers are not appropriate for investigating the long-term effects of aflatoxin exposure. In this explorative study, we investigated the analysis of hair as a complementary or alternative matrix for the assessment of biomarkers of long-term aflatoxin exposure. Three groups of guinea pigs were orally dosed with 5 ugkg−1bw−1, 50 ugkg−1bw−1, and 100 ugkg−1bw−1 of AFB1. Urine and hair samples were collected on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 30, 60, and 90 and analysed for AFB1 and AFM1 using UHPLC-MS/MS. AFB1 and AFM1 were detected in 75% and 13.6%, respectively, of the day 1 to day 7 urine samples. AFB1 was detected in hair samples collected from day 3 up to day 60. This is the first report to confirm the deposition of AFB1 in the hair of experimental animals. These findings indicate that hair analysis has the potential to provide an accurate long-term historical record of aflatoxin exposure with potentially important implications for the field of aflatoxin biomarkers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Biomonitoring and Risk Assessment of Mycotoxins)
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