A critical evaluation of health risk assessment of modified mycotoxins with a special focus on zearalenone

Abstract

A comprehensive definition introducing the term "modified mycotoxins" to encompass all possible forms in which mycotoxins and their modifications can occur was recently proposed and has rapidly gained wide acceptance within the scientific community. It is becoming increasingly evident that exposure to such modified mycotoxins due to their presence in food and feed has the potential to pose a substantial additional risk to human and animal health. Zearalenone (ZEN) is a well-characterized Fusarium toxin. Considering the diversity of modified forms of ZEN occurring in food and feed, the toxicologically relevant endocrine activity of many of these metabolites, and the fact that modified forms add to a dietary exposure which approaches the tolerable daily intake by free ZEN alone, modified forms of ZEN present an ideal case study for critical evaluation of modified mycotoxins in food safety. Following a summary of recent scientific opinions of EFSA dealing with health risk assessment of ZEN alone or in combination with its modified forms, uncertainties and data gaps are highlighted. Issues essential for evaluation and prioritization of modified mycotoxins in health risk assessment are identified and discussed, including opportunities to improve exposure assessment using biomonitoring data. Further issues such as future consideration of combinatory effects of the parent toxin with its modified forms and also other compounds co-occurring in food and feed are addressed. With a particular focus on ZEN, the most pressing challenges associated with health risk assessment of modified mycotoxins are identified and recommendations for further research to fill data gaps and reduce uncertainties are made.

An in vitromodel to quantify interspecies differences in kinetics for intestinal microbial bioactivation and detoxification of zearalenone

“…A better understanding of human ADME can further aid the development of human biomonitoring strategies to assess exposure to mycotoxins. This is particularly useful for mycotoxins such as ZEN, for which the occurrence of conjugated forms have been reported, but are difficult to quantify due to the lack of commercially available analytical standards [ 60 ].…”

Zearalenone (ZEN) in Livestock and Poultry: Dose, Toxicokinetics, Toxicity and Estrogenicity

“…Last but not least, the toxicity of modified and masked forms of ZEN (both extractable conjugated and non-extractable bound forms) has not been adequately evaluated [ 16 , 26 , 123 ]. These modified forms of ZEN are not detected by routine analytical procedures [ 16 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Recently, the metabolites and toxicity of modified and masked forms of ZEN have been frequently discussed [ 16 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Plants can alter the chemical structure of mycotoxins as part of their defense against xenobiotics [ 24 ].…”

“…The calibrants and reference materials for conjugated forms are still not commercially available [ 16 ]. To date, more than 30 modified forms of ZEN have been described, including correspondent cis -forms (due to the sunlight exposure) and zearalenone-14-sulfate [ 16 , 26 , 27 ]. Masked forms derivatives have been often mentioned in literatures including: zearalenone-14-glucoside, α-zearalenol-14-glucoside, and β-zearalenol-14-glucoside [ 16 , 24 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Mycotoxin Occurrence, Exposure and Health Implications in Infants and Young Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

“…Exposure to these toxins can be through ingestion, inhalation, or/and dermal absorption. The degree of toxic effect is dependent on the toxin type, exposure dose and duration, age, sex, and health status of the host, exposure route, and possible synergistic effects of other chemicals to which the individual is exposed [13][14][15][16][17]. The potential subgroup most affected by mycotoxin contamination is IYC, probably because of their high ingestion of mycotoxins due to frequent consumption of cereal-based food in proportion to their body weight [18,19].…”