Medicinal herbs have been increasingly used for therapeutic purposes against a diverse range of human diseases worldwide. Moreover, the health benefits of spices have been extensively recognized in recent studies. However, inevitable contaminants, including mycotoxins, in medicinal herbs and spices can cause serious problems for humans in spite of their health benefits. Along with the different nation-based occurrences of mycotoxins, the ultimate exposure and toxicities can be diversely influenced by the endogenous food components in different commodities of the medicinal herbs and spices. The phytochemicals in these food stuffs can influence mold growth, mycotoxin production and biological action of the mycotoxins in exposed crops, as well as in animal and human bodies. The present review focuses on the occurrence of mycotoxins in medicinal herbs and spices and the biological interaction between mold, mycotoxin and herbal components. These networks will provide insights into the methods of mycotoxin reduction and toxicological risk assessment of mycotoxin-contaminated medicinal food components in the environment and biological organisms.

Adlay seed samples were collected from three adlay growing regions (Yeoncheon, Hwasun, and Eumseong region) in Korea during 2012. Among all the samples collected, 400 seeds were tested for fungal occurrence by standard blotter and test tube agar methods and different taxonomic groups of fungal genera were detected. The most predominant fungal genera encountered were Fusarium, Phoma, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Curvularia, Cochliobolus and Leptosphaerulina. Fusarium species accounted for 45.6% of all species found; and, with phylogenetic analysis based on the combined sequences of two protein coding genes (EF-1α and β-tubulin), 10 Fusarium species were characterized namely, F. incarnatum (11.67%), F. kyushuense (10.33%), F. fujikuroi (8.67%), F. concentricum (6.00%), F. asiaticum (5.67%), F. graminearum (1.67%), F. miscanthi (0.67%), F. polyphialidicum (0.33%), F. armeniacum (0.33%), and F. thapsinum (0.33%). The Fusarium species were then examined for their morphological characteristics to confirm their identity. Morphological observations of the species correlated well with and confirmed their molecular identification. The ability of these isolates to produce the mycotoxins fumonisin (FUM) and zearalenone (ZEN) was tested by the ELISA quantitative analysis method. The result revealed that FUM was produced only by F. fujikuroi and that ZEN was produced by F. asiaticum and F. graminearum.

: Damages of medicinal crops by thrips and identification of thrips species were investigated by periodic surveys on major medicinal crops, Platycodon grandiflorum, Schizandra chinensis, Codonopsis lanceolata, Lycium chinense, Bupleurum falcatum, Ledebouriella seseloides, Angelica gigas, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Liriope platyphylla, Atractyloides sp., once or twice a month in Suwon, Eumseong, Jecheon, Pyeongchang, Chyungyang from May to October in 2012. Thrips and their damages were found at all of the medicinal crops investigated, mostly occurring at early growing stages of each medicinal crop and causing apical meristem region withered, thereby inhibiting the growth of plants. For species identification of thrips collected from each medicinal crops, DNA from each individual was extracted and ITS2 and COI regions were amplified by PCR. As a result, Frankliniella intonsa, Thrips tabaci, and Megalurothrips distalis have been identified as dominant species on medicinal crops in open field, whereas Frankliniella occidentalis was restricted to Lycium chinense in which protected cultivation. This study suggests that the occurrence of thrips species on medicinal crops seems to be affected by host specificity and environmental factors such as cultivation types.

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