Fusarium Toxins: Occurrence and Risk Assessment

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 13751

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón—IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), Facultad de Veterinaria, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: mycotoxins; control; analytical methods; preharvest; risk assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Fusarium is one of the most economically important genera of phytopathogenic fungi. Several Fusarium species can infect cereals (such as wheat, maize, barley, oat, rice, rye, millet, and sorghum) as well as cereal products (bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, and infant cereals). The predominant species can vary according to crop species involved, geographic region and environmental conditions.

The most common Fusarium toxins are trichothecenes, zearalenone and fumonisins. However, other mycotoxins (enniatin, moniliformin, beauvericin and fusaproliferin) can be identified in combination with these mycotoxins.

Fusarium toxins are primarily produced in the field during pre-harvest and are an important indicator of diseases in cereal crops, such as Fusarium head blight (FHB).

Moreover, these mycotoxins are able to induce both acute and chronic toxicities in humans and animals, including emesis, diarrhea, anorexia, genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, and immune system suppression.

The aim of the present Special Issue is to collect the most recent research on this topic as well as review articles on the occurrence and risk assessment studies of Fusarium toxins. Submissions related to the following topics are welcome:

  • Occurrence of Fusarium toxins in different food commodities;
  • Fusarium toxins contamination before, during, and post-harvest and agronomic practices involved in its incidence;
  • Analytical methods for an accurate determination of Fusarium toxins in different food and feed matrices;
  • Toxicology of Fusarium toxins;
  • Risk assessment studies based on dietary exposure to Fusarium toxins in different age groups.

Dr. Marta Herrera
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • deoxynivalenol
  • mycotoxin
  • occurrence
  • toxicology
  • risk assessment
  • zearalenone
  • fumonisins

 

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 9567 KiB  
Article
LC-MS/MS Analysis of Fumonisin B1, B2, B3, and Their Hydrolyzed Metabolites in Broiler Chicken Feed and Excreta
by Shuo Zhang, Shuang Zhou, Song Yu, Yunfeng Zhao, Yongning Wu and Aibo Wu
Toxins 2022, 14(2), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14020131 - 9 Feb 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2538
Abstract
An accurate, reliable, and specific method was developed for the quantitative determination of fumonisins B1, B2, B3, and their hydrolyzed metabolites, HFB1, HFB2, and HFB3, in broiler chicken feed and excreta using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The samples [...] Read more.
An accurate, reliable, and specific method was developed for the quantitative determination of fumonisins B1, B2, B3, and their hydrolyzed metabolites, HFB1, HFB2, and HFB3, in broiler chicken feed and excreta using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The samples were extracted and diluted for the determination of parent fumonisins. Another portion of the extracted samples was alkaline-hydrolyzed and cleaned using a strong anionic exchange adsorbent (MAX) for the determination of hydrolyzed fumonisins. Chromatographic separation was performed on a CORTECS C18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.6 μm) using 0.2% formic acid aqueous solution and methanol with 0.2% formic acid as the mobile phase under gradient elution. The six fumonisins, FB1, FB2, FB3, HFB1, HFB2, and HFB3, were analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry using multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The six fumonisins showed good linearity, with relative coefficients of r > 0.99. The limits of quantitation (LOQs) were 160 μg/kg. At the low, medium, and high spiked levels, the recovery of fumonisins in chicken feed and excreta ranged from 82.6 to 115.8%, with a precision (RSD) of 3.9–18.9%. This method was successfully applied to investigate the migration and transformation of fumonisins in broiler chickens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fusarium Toxins: Occurrence and Risk Assessment)
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13 pages, 1152 KiB  
Article
Application of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for Tracking Human Exposure to Deoxynivalenol and Enniatins
by Zane Berzina, Romans Pavlenko, Martins Jansons, Elena Bartkiene, Romans Neilands, Iveta Pugajeva and Vadims Bartkevics
Toxins 2022, 14(2), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14020091 - 25 Jan 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3634
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a promising biomonitoring approach with the potential to provide direct information on human intake and exposure to food contaminants and environmental chemicals. The aim of this study was to apply WBE while employing the normalization method for exploring human [...] Read more.
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a promising biomonitoring approach with the potential to provide direct information on human intake and exposure to food contaminants and environmental chemicals. The aim of this study was to apply WBE while employing the normalization method for exploring human exposure to selected mycotoxins according to population biomarker 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). This type of normalization technique has been previously used to detect various other compounds. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study tracking human exposure to mycotoxins. A sensitive analytical methodology was developed to achieve reliable quantification of deoxynivalenol, enniatins, and beauvericin in wastewater (WW) samples. The applicability of the method was evaluated by testing 29 WW samples collected at WW treatment plants in Latvia. With frequency of detection greater than 86%, enniatins B, B1, A, and A1 were revealed in WW samples. The estimated total daily intake for enniatins was in the range of 1.8–27.6 µg/day per person. Free deoxynivalenol (DON) was determined in all analysed WW samples. Based on the average 5-HIAA excretion level and the determined 5-HIAA content in the samples, the intake of DON by the human population of Riga was estimated at 325 ng/kg b.w. day. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fusarium Toxins: Occurrence and Risk Assessment)
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11 pages, 805 KiB  
Article
Two Different Inoculation Methods Unveiled the Relative Independence of DON Accumulation in Wheat Kernels from Disease Severity on Spike after Infection by Fusarium Head Blight
by Rong Wang, Chen Hua, Yi Hu, Lei Li, Zhengxi Sun and Tao Li
Toxins 2021, 13(5), 353; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13050353 - 14 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2173
Abstract
Fusarium head blight (FHB) causes wheat yield loss and mycotoxin (deoxynivalenol, DON) accumulation in wheat kernel. Developing wheat cultivars with overall resistance to both FHB spread within a spike and DON accumulation in kernels is crucial for ensuring food security and food safety. [...] Read more.
Fusarium head blight (FHB) causes wheat yield loss and mycotoxin (deoxynivalenol, DON) accumulation in wheat kernel. Developing wheat cultivars with overall resistance to both FHB spread within a spike and DON accumulation in kernels is crucial for ensuring food security and food safety. Here, two relatively novel inoculation methods, bilateral floret inoculation (BFI) and basal rachis internode injection (BRII), were simultaneously employed to evaluate disease severity and DON content in kernels in a segregating population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from Ning 7840 (carrying Fhb1) and Clark (without Fhb1). Under both inoculation methods, four contrasting combinations of disease severity and DON content were identified: high severity/high DON (HSHD), high severity/low DON (HSLD), low severity/high DON (LSHD) and low severity/low DON (LSLD). Unexpectedly, the BRII method clearly indicated that disease severity was not necessarily relevant to DON concentration. The effects of Fhb1 on disease severity, and on DON concentrations, agreed very well across the two methods. Several lines carrying Fhb1 showed extremely higher severity and (or) DON content under both inoculation methods. The “Mahalanobis distance” (MD) method was used to rate overall resistance of a line by inclusion of both disease severity and DON content over both methods to select LSLD lines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fusarium Toxins: Occurrence and Risk Assessment)
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12 pages, 1004 KiB  
Article
Variation of Deoxynivalenol Levels in Corn and Its Products Available in Retail Markets of Punjab, Pakistan, and Estimation of Risk Assessment
by Shahzad Zafar Iqbal, Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis, Sunusi Usman, Nada Basheir Ali and Muhammad Rafique Asi
Toxins 2021, 13(5), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13050296 - 22 Apr 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1827
Abstract
This study investigated the natural incidence of deoxynivalenol (DON) in corn and corn products from corn-producing districts of Punjab, Pakistan. The analysis was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detector and immunoaffinity cleanup columns. The detection limit (LOD) and [...] Read more.
This study investigated the natural incidence of deoxynivalenol (DON) in corn and corn products from corn-producing districts of Punjab, Pakistan. The analysis was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detector and immunoaffinity cleanup columns. The detection limit (LOD) and limit of quantification were 25 and 50 µg/kg, respectively. A total of 1220 samples of corn and corn products were analyzed to detect DON, and 539 (44.2%) samples were observed to be contaminated with DON (n ≥ LOD). Furthermore, 92 (7.5%) samples of corn and corn products had DON levels that were higher than the proposed limits of the EU. The data are significantly different from a normal distribution of DON in samples of corn and corn products from different locations (p < 0.05) for Shapiro–Wilk and Kolmogorov–Smirnov values. However, a significant difference in DON levels was found between corn and corn-derived products (p ≤ 0.05). The lowest and highest exposures, and hazard quotient (HQ) values of 0.92 and 9.68 µg/kg bw/day, were documented in corn flour samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fusarium Toxins: Occurrence and Risk Assessment)
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Review

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16 pages, 977 KiB  
Review
Biomarkers of Exposure to Zearalenone in In Vivo and In Vitro Studies
by Paula Llorens, Marta Herrera, Ana Juan-García, Juan José Payá, Juan Carlos Moltó, Agustín Ariño and Cristina Juan
Toxins 2022, 14(5), 291; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14050291 - 20 Apr 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2759
Abstract
The measurement of human exposure to mycotoxins is necessary for its association with adverse health effects. This exposure is usually estimated from contamination levels of foodstuffs, which are the primary source of toxin exposure, and data on food consumption patterns. However, variations in [...] Read more.
The measurement of human exposure to mycotoxins is necessary for its association with adverse health effects. This exposure is usually estimated from contamination levels of foodstuffs, which are the primary source of toxin exposure, and data on food consumption patterns. However, variations in contamination level, intestinal absorption, toxin distribution, and excretion lead to individual variations in toxin exposure that can be more readily measured with a biomarker. This review deals with the latest literature information about ZEN biomarkers in humans, animals, and cell line cultures. Their presence in urine, biomarkers that have effects in the kidney, liver, reproductive system and blood and biomarkers of cell response have been reported. It has highlighted the importance of determining α-zearalenol and β-zearalenol biomarkers to estimate the probable dietary intake (PDI) of a specific population or to characterize the severity of exposure to ZEN in animals or cell lines. α-ZEL and β-ZEL are cytotoxic by inhibiting cell proliferation, total protein and DNA syntheses, in this sense, an induction of expression proteins Hsp27 and Hsp70 was observed, and an increase in gene expression (TLR4, NF-kBp65, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, MGMT, α-GST, Hsp70, Nrf2, L-Fabp, HO-1, MAPK8), the determination of which indicates an oxidative stress effect. The integrity of the cell or tissue membrane is assessed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which increase at exposure of ZEN (84.2 µM), and the proportions of some fatty acids of the renal tissue membrane were increased at treatments with ZEN. This review allows starting future studies of animal and population exposure in parallel with those of health effects works. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fusarium Toxins: Occurrence and Risk Assessment)
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