Natural Co-Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Foods and Feeds and Their in vitro Combined Toxicological Effects

Abstract

Some foods and feeds are often contaminated by numerous mycotoxins, but most studies have focused on the occurrence and toxicology of a single mycotoxin. Regulations throughout the world do not consider the combined effects of mycotoxins. However, several surveys have reported the natural co-occurrence of mycotoxins from all over the world. Most of the published data has concerned the major mycotoxins aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins (FUM) and trichothecenes (TCTs), especially deoxynivalenol (DON). Concerning cereals and derived cereal product samples, among the 127 mycotoxin combinations described in the literature, AFs+FUM, DON+ZEA, AFs+OTA, and FUM+ZEA are the most observed. However, only a few studies specified the number of co-occurring mycotoxins with the percentage of the co-contaminated samples, as well as the main combinations found. Studies of mycotoxin combination toxicity showed antagonist, additive or synergic effects depending on the tested species, cell model or mixture, and were not necessarily time- or dose-dependent. This review summarizes the findings on mycotoxins and their co-occurrence in various foods and feeds from all over the world as well as in vitro experimental data on their combined toxicity.

Overview on the Mycotoxins Incidence in Serbia in the Period 2004–2016

“…Risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals is defined as a priority objective by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and EU [98]. Among the 116 reported possible mycotoxins combinations found by the different authors in cereals and derived cereal product samples, AFs + FUMs, DON + ZEN, AFs + OTA and FUMs + ZEN were the most present ones [99]. Among the combinations, the AFB1 + FB1 mixture has received the greatest attention over the last decade as they are two of the most relevant mycotoxins co-occurring in maize with most severe adverse health effects.…”

Individual and Combined Cytotoxic Effects of Co‐Occurring Deoxynivalenol Family Mycotoxins on Human Gastric Epithelial Cells

“…The acetylated and glycosylated derivatives of parent DON, including 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON), and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (D3G), could also be detected in wheat and corn [6,9,12]. It is worth mentioning that the currently established safety limit regulations were mainly derived from toxicological data, which only take into account single-mycotoxin exposure without considering the combined mycotoxins effects [13]. Obviously, the individual mycotoxins’ toxicities cannot represent the real toxicity of mycotoxin co-occurrence and ignores the interactions among mycotoxins, i.e., additive, synergistic, or antagonistic toxic effects.…”

In vitro estimation of metal-induced disturbance in chicken gut-oviduct chemokine circuit

“…Chicken PCiS-based chemokine gene expression was assessed based on the assumption that luminal xenobiotics may trigger chemokine release from the early exposure site (gut). as a positive xenobiotic agent, the effects of Fusarium-producing deoxynivalenol (Don) were also evaluated because this fungal toxin is a representative gut barrier disruptor capable of strong pro-inflammatory insult that is found in feed and foodstuff worldwide 25,26 . in the chicken small intestine, lead induced production of chemokine CXCli1 or CXCli2 in a time-dependent manner, and this occurred only slightly later than the induction by Don ( Figure 3B).…”