Mycotoxins—Biomonitoring and Human Exposure

Abstract

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungal species that commonly have a toxic effect on human and animal health. Different foodstuff can be contaminated and are considered the major source of human exposure to mycotoxins, but occupational and environmental exposure can also significantly contribute to this problem. This review aims to provide a short overview of the occurrence of toxigenic fungi and regulated mycotoxins in foods and workplaces, following the current literature and data presented in scientific papers. Biomonitoring of mycotoxins in plasma, serum, urine, and blood samples has become a common method for determining the exposure to different mycotoxins. Novel techniques are more and more precise and accurate and are aiming toward the simultaneous determination of multiple mycotoxins in one analysis. Application of liquid chromatography (LC) methodologies, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) or high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has become a common and most reliable method for determining the exposure to mycotoxins. Numerous references confirm the importance of mycotoxin biomonitoring to assess the exposure for humans and animals. The objectives of this paper were to review the general approaches to biomonitoring of different mycotoxins and the occurrence of toxigenic fungi and their mycotoxins, using recent literature sources.

Susceptibility of Oocytes from Gilts and Sows to Beauvericin and Deoxynivalenol and Its Relationship with Oxidative Stress

“…Pigs are appropriate models to determine the effects of toxic compounds in humans due to the physiological similarities [53]. Therefore, chronic dietary exposure of children and prepubertal girls to DON and BEA may affect their fertility in adult life, and these mycotoxins are commonly found in infant food [54]. The tested exposure levels of DON in the present studies are similar to those detected in porcine and human plasma.…”

Assessment of Mycotoxin Exposure in a Rural County of Chile by Urinary Biomarker Determination

“…The most investigated mycotoxins are aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), and deoxynivalenol (DON), causing carcinogenic, mutagenic, estrogenic, and gastrointestinal effects in humans and animals [ 5 ]. Human exposure to these mycotoxins occurs predominantly through the consumption of contaminated foods [ 6 ]. Daily exposure to mycotoxins has been measured in an indirect way by an estimated daily intake (EDI), which is based on consumption and the mycotoxins’ concentrations in foods [ 7 ], as well as by a direct exposure assessment utilizing a probable daily intake (PDI); the latter is based on biomarker measurements in biological fluids, such as urine and blood, and the excretion rate of the mycotoxins [ 8 ].…”

“…This method is the most accurate and has been used to estimate individual mycotoxin intakes, including all sources of exposure [ 9 ]. Urine is usually preferred for population-based studies because it is a noninvasive method; its limitations are the daily variations in urine composition and that the mycotoxin excretion rates varies among individuals [ 6 , 10 ]. Urinary biomarkers are better indicators for short-term variations in exposure, as blood biomarkers may not reflect this because of the protein-binding properties of some mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin and OTA) [ 8 , 11 ].…”

“…The main metabolites of mycotoxins found in urine are aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), a product of the hydroxylation of AFB1 in the liver [ 11 ]; ochratoxin α (OTα), the hydrolyzed form of OTA [ 12 ]; α-zearalenol (α-ZEL) and β-zearalenol (β-ZEL), which are products of the Phase II biotransformation of ZEN [ 13 ]; and de-epoxy-deoxynivalenol (DOM-1) and deoxynivalenol-glucuronide (DON-GlcA), which results from the biotransformation of DON [ 14 ]. However, aglycone mycotoxins are also usually found in urine and often complementarily used in biomonitoring studies [ 6 , 8 , 15 , 16 ].…”

Development and Limitations of Exposure Biomarkers to Dietary Contaminants Mycotoxins

“…The use of powerful LC–MS/MS approaches to understand exposure to multiple mycotoxin species has accelerated in the past decade or so, recently reviewed in detail [ 106 ]. For most, analytical quantification of their bio-fluid concentration has far outpaced good quantitative data on how to interpret these data.…”