The African Fusarium/maize disease

Abstract

There is a general but rather vague feeling that the use of maize (corn) as a staple foodstuff by black rural Africans is somehow a factor in, or is linked to, chronic disease found in these populations. An attempt is made in this review to consider the evidence for this connection and to identify what is actually the root of the problem. The main thrust of the argument to explain this perception is that maize is routinely contaminated with fungi and of these Fusarium verticillioides is found in maize throughout the world. Evidence is presented to this effect and, further, of the mycotoxins found in maize, the fumonisins are the most common and at the highest levels. Various animal chronic diseases arising from the consumption of contaminated maize are reviewed and possible human conditions listed, in some cases related to the known animal ones. A brief overview of the complicated cellular mechanisms of fumonisin B1 is given and it is concluded that the prime suspect in what might be called "the maize disease" can be attributed to the ingestion of this mycotoxin, sometimes in combination with other synergist mycotoxins and other disease factors, such as smoking and drinking.

The cytotoxic effect of fumonisin B1 and ochratoxin A on human and pig lymphocytes using the Methyl Thiazol Tetrazolium (MTT) assay

“…Fumonisin B 1 and ochratoxin A are amongst the most important mycotoxins found in food and feed with FB1 being prominent in maize (Marasas et al 1993) which is a major crop in South Africa and, for many black Africans, a staple (Dutton 2009). In central European countries such as Hungary, both FB1 and OTA can both be found in maize (Fazekas et al 1997;Kovács et al 1995;Rafai et al 2000), and hence these mycotoxins were selected for study in order to analyse their possible synergistic effects on human and pig lymphocytes and also to investigate the latter cells as possible model systems, rather than cell cultures, for testing cytotoxicity.…”

Feed exposure to FB1 can aggravate pneumonic damages in pigs provoked by P. multocid a

“…The most mycotoxins have strong immunosuppressive effects and often compromise animals and human health provoking development of secondary bacterial infections (Stoev et al, 2000) or deteriorating some existing diseases (Pósa et al, 2011(Pósa et al, , 2013. It is well known, that Fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ) is one of the most frequent contaminant of the feeds for pigs in all over the world (Dutton, 2009). In Hungary, FB 1 was found in relatively high percentage of maize used as animal feed (Fazekas et al, 1998).…”

Aflatoxin Contamination in Foods and Feeds: A Special Focus on Africa

“…An example in point of the latter is AFB 1 in groundnut, a staple where rural people ingest this mycotoxin most of their life time and as a consequence, this may increase the incidence of liver cancer (hepatocarcinoma) proportionately (Peers and Linsell, 1973) in the region. A similar situation is found where FB 1 from maize as a staple is ingested but the consequence of a lifetime of exposure to this toxin is not as clearly defined as that of AFB 1 , because FB 1 has a much lower toxicity but there are indications that it has a role in various diseases conditions (Dutton 2009). This is discussed subsequently in detail.…”

“…Kwashiorkor has been referred to at a certain time as a "maize disease" (Adhikari et al, 1994). This label has been used in other circumstances with reference to Fusarium mycotoxins, in particular the FB, i.e., FB 1 (Dutton, 2009). It is not impossible that these mycotoxins rather than AFB 1 have some role in the development of kwashiorkor.…”