Fumonisin B₁contamination of home-grown corn in high-risk areas for esophageal and liver cancer in China

Abstract

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is reportedly the causative agent of several animal mycotoxicoses and has etiologically been linked to human oesophageal and liver cancer in certain areas of South Africa and China. To study a possible relationship between exposure to FB1 and human cancer risk, the current status of FB1 contamination in food samples in Huaian and Fusui, where incidences of oesophageal and liver cancer are amongst the highest in China, was investigated. A total of 259 corn samples were collected from individual households in five villages of different townships in Huaian during December 2001 and December 2002, and in four villages of different townships in Fusui during May 2001 and May 2002. Corn samples were also collected from individual households in two villages in Huantai, an area with low incidences of both cancers. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and immunoaffinity-HPLC methods were used for FB1 analysis. In corn samples from Huaian, FB1 was detectable in 95.7% (112/117) of the samples, with an average of 2.84 mg kg-1 (range 0.1-25.5 mg kg-1). FB1 was detected in 83.0% (78/94) of the Fusui samples, with an average of 1.27 mg kg-1 (range 0.1-14.9 mg kg-1), and in 83.3% (40/48) of Huantai samples, with an average of 0.65 mg kg-1 ranging from 0.1 to 5.7 mg kg-1. The level of FB1 in corn samples from Huaian was significantly higher than from Huantai (P < 0.001). In addition, 47 of 112 (42.0%) positive Huaian samples had FB1 level greater than 2.0 mg kg-1, which was significantly higher than 10.0% (4/40) of Huantai samples (P < 0.001). Furthermore, variations were found between samples collected in different years and different villages. The high contamination rates of FB1 found in food from these areas, along with previous reports, suggest a possible contributing role of FB1 in human esophageal- and hepato-carcinogenesis.

Effects of different mycotoxins on humans, cell genome and their involvement in cancer

“…This confirmed that aflatoxin B1 is hepatocarcinogenic (154). In another study, there was an increase of the hepatocellular carcinoma in Mozambique and Transkei, and several parts of Asia (155) including China (156) and Africa including Kenya (153).…”

Exposure of infants to fumonisins in maize‐based complementary foods in rural Tanzania

“…FBs have relatively high prevalence in home grown maize in tropical and subtropical countries [7]. Dietary exposure to FBs has been linked to high incidences of oesophageal cancer observed in Transkei in South Africa [8,9], North East Italy [10], China [11,12] and Iran [13]. Studies in animals demonstrate that FB 1 causes liver cancer in male BD IX rats and female B6C3F1 mice and kidney cancer in male Fischer 344 rats [14].…”

Fumonisin B1 as a Urinary Biomarker of Exposure in a Maize Intervention Study Among South African Subsistence Farmers

“…as secondary metabolites, of which fumonisin B 1 , B 2 , and B 3 (FB 1 , FB 2 , and FB 3 ) are the most prevalent (1). Fumonisins are carcinogenic to rodents, and have been associated with oesophageal and liver cancer in subsistence maize farming communities around the world, as well as occurrence of neural tube defects (2,3,4,5). There are numerous fumonisin analogues of which FB 1 is the most abundant naturally occurring fumonisin on maize and maize-based food worldwide and was classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (6).…”