Biochemistry and metabolism of mycotoxins: A review

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review the biochemistry and metabolism of aflatoxins, fumonisins and trichothecenes. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic species of fungi, which can cause toxic effects in humans and animals. Food contamination by mycotoxins has been reported worldwide, mostly in foods that are susceptible to fungal growth, such as grains and cereals. Mycotoxins can lead to damage to health, and economic losses in agriculture. The most common mycotoxins found in routine food consumption and with consumption limits set by many countries, including Brazil, are: aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , G 1 e G 2 , ochatoxin A, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin and fumonisin. The better understanding of the biochemistry and metabolism of mycotoxins is necessary to avoid problems caused by them and minimize their negative effects on agriculture and health.

QUALIDADE DE SEMENTES DE Phaseolus vulgaris L. NO CONTEXTO DA SUSTENTABILIDADE

“…Além disso, em condições favoráveis, alguns gêneros de fungos de armazenamento produzem substâncias toxicas para seres humanos e animais, com implicações negativas a saúde publica e a economia e a economia (HEIDTMANN-BEMVENUTI et al, 2011;MARTINEZ et al, 2014;LIMA et al, 2015;MOTTA et al, 2015), podendo causar contaminações ambientais, no solo (HARTMANN et al, 2008) e na água (KOLPIN et al, 2014;RIBEIRO & TIRITAN, 2015).…”

Effect of natural compounds onFusarium graminearumcomplex

“…Fusarium graminearum species complex is the main cause of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat and barley and Gibberella ear rot in corn. The most common Fusarium toxins found in the food chain are zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, T‐2 toxin, 3‐acetyl deoxynivalenol, 15‐acetyldeoxynivalenol and fumonisin, and their presence in agricultural material indicates that detoxification during the post‐agricultural processes or during food preparation at home is not very efficient …”

Can Microalgae Act as Source of Preservatives in Food Chain?

“…284 can be found as residual in environmental and agricultural products because their application does not always result in efficient performance. Some of them can cause fungal stress and the consequence is mycotoxins production [11,12]. Also fungicides may alter metabolic reaction in plants once they are systemic.…”