Aflatoxins and food pathogens: impact of biologically active aflatoxins and their control strategies

Abstract

Globally disease outbreaks as a result of the consumption of contaminated food and feedstuffs are a regular primary problem. The foremost elements contributing to contamination are microorganisms, particularly fungi, which produce low-molecular weight secondary metabolites, with demonstrated toxic properties that are referred to as mycotoxins. Aflatoxins contaminate agricultural commodities and may cause sickness or fatality in humans and animals. Moreover, poor conditions of storage and a deficiency in regulatory measures in food quality control aggravate the main issue. For that reason, mycotoxin-related illness of nutrition represents a major health hazard for local populations. Government policies should make regulations aiming to avoid the entry of aflatoxins into food stuffs. For consumer safety, control and management strategies should be developed and implemented by regulatory authorities. There is the need for attention from farmers, scientists, government and collaborative minds throughout the country to ensure aflatoxin-free food. The present review is informative not only for health-conscious consumers, but also for relevant authorities with respect to paving the way for future research aiming to fill the existing gaps in our knowledge with regard to mycotoxins and food security. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Global scientific trends on aflatoxin research during 1998–2017: a bibliometric and visualized study

“…India, Iran, Brazil, Turkey, and Egypt) were developing countries as defined by the United Nations, which suggests that each perceive this issue as a serious problem. Among this grouping, there was international diversity not associated [58,59], Iran [60], India [61][62][63][64], Brazil [51,65], and Egypt [66]) caused exceptionally large morbidity and mortality connected with such outbreaks [1,[67][68][69], and this may explain why more research has emphasized on aflatoxin since that time [28]. Analysis of international collaborations (i.e., link strength) showed that the United States had the highest number of collaborators (n = 87) followed by the United Kingdom (n = 63), and Italy (n = 54) ( Fig.…”

Alternative Oxidase: A Potential Target for Controlling Aflatoxin Contamination and Propagation of Aspergillus flavus

“…Aflatoxins are primarily produced by Aspergillus spp., including A. flavus, as polyketide secondary metabolites. These opportunistic fungi are commonly detected as contaminants in cereal crops at both the pre-and post-harvest stages (Umesha et al, 2017). Although aflatoxigenic fungi more commonly grow in tropical and sub-tropical climates, aflatoxin contamination has always been a global concern owing to globalized trade; moreover, zones with a perennial aflatoxin contamination risk have expanded owing to climate change (Marroquín-Cardona et al, 2014;Baranyi et al, 2015).…”

Dual Transcriptional Profile of Aspergillus flavus during Co-Culture with Listeria monocytogenes and Aflatoxin B1 Production: A Pathogen–Pathogen Interaction

“…Bacteria are capable of producing compounds that could either repress pathogenesis by inhibiting filamentation or enhance fungal virulence determinants [5]. Co-existence of two major pathogens, such as Aspergillus flavus and Listeria monocytogenes, has been reported in food systems such as dairy products, eggs, meats, and brewer's grain [6][7][8][9][10]. The interactions between those two pathogens are critical in shaping the food microbial communities and exert a significant impact on the colonization, survival and even pathogenesis of these microorganisms.…”