Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.5
3.9
Journals
Toxins
Special Issues
Biomonitoring of Mycotoxins the Silent Invaders, Their Subtle Assault on...
share announcement

Biomonitoring of Mycotoxins the Silent Invaders, Their Subtle Assault on Human and Animal Health

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 1803

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cristina Juan García

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Food Sciences, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, University of Valencia | UV, E-46100 Valencia, Spain
Interests: food safety; mass spectrometry analysis; proteomics; risk assessment; toxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ana Juan-García

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Food Sciences, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, University of Valencia | UV, E-46100 Valencia, Spain
Interests: food safety; toxicology; in vitro studies; risk asessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomonitoring is an important tool in assessing the impact of toxicants; it consists of measuring toxicants or their metabolites either in tissues, secreta, excreta, expired air or any combination of them to evaluate exposure and health risk compared to an appropriate reference. The high variety of possible metabolites produced in the organism or environment forces us to use selective and sensible equipment which can show a complete pathway of absorption, distribution, metabolization and elimination of these compounds. Mycotoxins are present in small concentrations in many foods and feeds. Mycotoxins can be notably biotransformed and detoxified in the liver, as well as in the digestive tract. Their possible metabolization and subsequent biotransformation is predominantly meditated by cytochrome P450, although other enzymes may intervene. Such biotransformation processes should transform the toxins to non-toxic metabolites but they may possibly result in unexpectedly high toxicity. Therefore, the verification of biotransformation and bioavailability provides valuable information to correctly interpret occurrence data and biomonitoring results. The high development and innovation in chromatography equipment (GC or LC) coupled to spectrometry detectors (QTrap-MS/MS, MS/MS tandem, QTOF-MS/MS) permits us the extension of this biotransformation through biomonitoring.

We are pleased to invite you collaborate on this Special Issue which aims to include works related to mycotoxins’ biotransformation and biomonitoring through in vivo and in vitro studies with the newest methodologies and techniques. 

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: analytical skill in biological samples; in vivo studies about biotransformation; in vitro studies about biotransformation; risk assessment through biomonitoring.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Cristina Juan García
Dr. Ana Juan-García
Guest Editors

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 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 2700 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
  • biomonitoring
  • blood
  • cells
  • biotransformation
  • in vitro
  • in vivo
  • mass spectrometry

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

25 pages, 1685 KiB  
Article
Cytotoxic Profiles of Beauvericin, Citrinin, Moniliformin, and Patulin and Their Binary Combinations: A Literature-Based Comparison and Experimental Validation in SH-SY5Y Cells
by Claudia Moyano-López, Luna Bridgeman, Cristina Juan and Ana Juan-García
Toxins 2025, 17(3), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17030143 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 445
Abstract
Mycotoxins are toxic compounds found in food and feed that pose significant risks to human and animal health. This work reviews recent studies on the cytotoxic effects of four mycotoxins: beauvericin (BEA), citrinin (CTN), moniliformin (MON), and patulin (PAT) in various cell lines. [...] Read more.
Mycotoxins are toxic compounds found in food and feed that pose significant risks to human and animal health. This work reviews recent studies on the cytotoxic effects of four mycotoxins: beauvericin (BEA), citrinin (CTN), moniliformin (MON), and patulin (PAT) in various cell lines. Additionally, an experimental study evaluates the effects of these mycotoxins and their binary combinations on human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) after 24 and 48 h of exposure using the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay. This analysis is driven by the additional risks posed by the frequent occurrence of these combinations in agricultural and food products, as well as the lack of studies addressing their effects, interactions, and regulatory frameworks. This research focuses on comparing the cytotoxicity data obtained in the SH-SY5Y cell line with previously reported findings in the literature for other cell lines exposed to BEA, CTN, MON, and PAT, individually and in binary combination. The literature highlights significant scientific interest in understanding the cytotoxic effects of these mycotoxins, with findings varying based on exposure time and concentration. Experimentally, PAT demonstrated the highest toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells, while MON was the least toxic. Among combinations, BEA + MON and CTN + PAT showed the greatest reduction in cell viability. However, medium inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were not reached for most combinations involving MON, reflecting its lower potency under the studied conditions. These findings underscore the importance of further investigation and enhanced regulations to address the health risks posed by mycotoxins, as their cytotoxic effects remain a pressing issue in food safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomonitoring of Mycotoxins the Silent Invaders, Their Subtle Assault on Human and Animal Health)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

31 pages, 4060 KiB  
Article
Contamination Status and Health Risk Assessment of 73 Mycotoxins in Four Edible and Medicinal Plants Using an Optimized QuEChERS Pretreatment Coupled with LC-MS/MS
by Xiaojing Huang, Rui Feng, Qing Hu, Xiuhong Mao and Heng Zhou
Toxins 2025, 17(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17020052 - 23 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 868
Abstract
The current status of multi-mycotoxin contamination in edible and medicinal plants demands urgent development of high-throughput analytical methods for mycotoxin detection. In this study, a reliable and sensitive method for the simultaneous analysis of 73 mycotoxins was established and successfully applied to detect [...] Read more.
The current status of multi-mycotoxin contamination in edible and medicinal plants demands urgent development of high-throughput analytical methods for mycotoxin detection. In this study, a reliable and sensitive method for the simultaneous analysis of 73 mycotoxins was established and successfully applied to detect mycotoxins in 260 samples of four dual-purpose plants (lotus seed, coix seed, licorice root, and dried tangerine peel). Sample preparation involved optimized QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) extraction combined with liquid–liquid extraction purification, and an enhanced ion pair library was established to reduce matrix interference and improve the method’s universality. Method validation demonstrated recovery rates ranging from 61.6% to 118.6% for all compounds, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 15%. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.25–12.25 μg/kg and 0.5–25 μg/kg, respectively. Based on the contamination analysis and health risk assessment using Margin of Exposure (MOE) and Hazard Index (HI) methods, we found that multi-mycotoxin contamination is highly prevalent in edible and medicinal plants, with different components being susceptible to invasion by distinct fungal genera. Seed-type plants showed high susceptibility to Aspergillus (53.3%) and Fusarium (22.2%) contamination, with MOE values below 10,000 for aflatoxins indicating potential health risks. Physical state and good storage conditions significantly influenced contamination levels, with fragmented samples showing substantially higher mycotoxin levels. Additionally, mycotoxins with associated biosynthetic metabolic pathways were frequently detected simultaneously in highly contaminated samples. Based on these findings, we recommend implementing strict moisture control during storage, maintaining intact product form where possible, and establishing comprehensive supplier qualification systems. This study provides valuable reference for monitoring mycotoxin contamination in similar plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomonitoring of Mycotoxins the Silent Invaders, Their Subtle Assault on Human and Animal Health)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop