Aspergillus species as mycotoxin producers in agricultural products in central Europe

Abstract

Aspergillus species are able to produce a range of mycotoxins, includ­ing e.g. aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins and patulin. Aflatoxins are mainly produced by members of Aspergillus section Flavi, and they contaminate various agricultural products in several parts of the world. Several recent reports have indicated that aflatoxin-producing fungi and consequently aflatoxin contamination occur in agricultural commodities in a number of European countries which have not been faced with this problem before. Indeed, recent surveys have clarified that concentrations of aflatoxins in maize products and milk has been exceeding the EU limit in several regions of Central Europe including Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Northern Italy and Romania. However, aflatoxin contamination and aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus species have not been identified yet in maize in Hungary. We examined the presence of potential aflatoxin-producing Aspergilli in maize samples collected in southern parts of Hungary. Several A. flavus isolates were identified, and pre­liminary results indicated that some of the isolates were able to produce aflatoxins. Con­tamination of other agricultural products with aflatoxins can also pose problems in Central Europe due to global warming. Ochratoxin contamination of grapes and grape-derived products is usually caused by black Aspergilli, especially by A. carbonarius and A. niger, although these species have been rare in Central European vineyards due to climatic fac­tors. Ochratoxin contamination of other agricultural products including spices and cereals was also observed in the region. Besides, ochratoxin producing Aspergilli are frequently isolated from imported products including coffee beans, dried fruits and spices, and ochra­toxin contamination of these samples was also observed. Fumonisins are produced mainly by Fusarium species, and by the recently identified producers Aspergillus niger and A. awamori. We examined fumonisin producing abilities of A. niger / A. awamori isolates col­lected from the variety of substrates including raisins, figs, dates, maize and onions. The isolates, which came from dried vine fruits, produced several fumonisin isomers also pre­sent in the raisin samples, indicating that fumonisin contamination of these products was probably caused by black Aspergilli. Besides, strains collected from figs, dates and onions were also able to produce fumonisins, and preliminary data indicated that figs and onions were also contaminated with low but significant amount of fumonisins. Potential fumonisin producing A. awamori isolates were also identified on maize samples. Further studies on the examination of the occurrence of fumonisins and their potential producers in other agricultural products are in progress. Regarding patulin, contamination of apple based products is a serious problem in the region, mainly caused by Penicillium species. Although patulin producing Aspergilli have also been identified in cereals, patulin contamination of cereals and...

Exposure, Occurrence, and Chemistry of Fumonisins and their Cryptic Derivatives

“…Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici produces small amounts of FB1 (Abbas & Riley, ), while the contribution of Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus niger might reach considerable amounts (Frisvad, Smedsgaard, Samson, Larsen, & Thrane, ; Varga et al., ; Perrone et al., ; Kocsub'e et al., ). A. niger is an important pathogen of grapevine (Varga et al., ; Perrone et al., ) and producer of various fumonisins (fumonisins B 1 to B 4 and fumonisin B 6 ; for example, Frisvad et al., ; Varga et al., ; Scott, ).…”

“…Raisins of various origins are targeted by several genera of molds. Fumonisin production can be attributed to Aspergillus niger and A. awamori (Varga et al., ; Kocsubé et al., ). The low water content of these products does not prevent the growth of pathogens, because Aspergillus isolates have been shown to produce huge amounts of toxins at reduced water activity.…”

“…Figs are among the most important economic goods of the Mediterranean region (Heperkan, Moretti, Dikmen, & Logrieco, ), with Turkey being the world's largest exporter (Karbancıoglu‐Güler & Heperkan, ). Data on fumonisin contamination show that Aspergillus niger , its close relative Aspergillus awamori , and Fusarium proliferatum are the relevant species for fumonisin production (Heperkan et al., ; Kocsubé et al., ). There is a broad consensus that dried figs can be highly contaminated with mycotoxins (Karbancioglu–Güler & Heperkan, ; Heperkan et al., ; Heperkan, Guler, & Oktay, ).…”

Pre-Harvest Modelling and Mitigation of Aflatoxins in Maize in a Changing Climatic Environment—A Review

“…Data published in the most recent decade [23][24][25][26][27][28] confirmed the presence of toxigenic strains of A. flavus and aflatoxin contamination in agricultural products and soil samples in Hungary and other neighbouring countries of the Pannonian agro-ecological zone.…”

The Effect of Environmental Factors on Mould Counts and AFB1 Toxin Production by Aspergillus flavus in Maize

“…These years were humid and moderately warm; therefore, the fungus was able to infect silks and, subsequently, cobs [ 30 ]. Kocsubé et al [ 31 ] isolated and identified a large number of A. flavus in the southern part of Hungary, and approximately 25% of the isolates were able to produce aflatoxins. Dobolyi et al [ 32 ] established that the toxigenic Aspergillus species are also present in all Hungarian agricultural areas.…”