Analysis of Multiple Mycotoxins in the Qatari Population and Their Relation to Markers of Oxidative Stress

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring food toxins worldwide that can cause serious health effects. The measurement of mycotoxin biomarkers in biological fluids is needed to assess individual's’ exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of mycotoxins in the Qatari population. Serum samples from 412 adults and urinary samples from 559 adults were analyzed for the presence of mycotoxin biomarkers. Multimycotoxin approaches have been applied, using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods. Samples were further analyzed for the oxidative stress markers and compared with regard to the incidence of mycotoxins. The presence of mycotoxins was identified in 37% of serum samples and in less than 20% of urine samples. It was found that 88% of positive of the samples were positive for only one mycotoxin, while 12% of positive samples had two or more mycotoxins. Trichothecenes and zearalenone metabolites were most commonly detected mycotoxins, followed by aflatoxins, roquefortine C and mycophenolic acid. The presence of mycotoxins was found to positively correlate with oxidative stress markers. The obtained results illustrate the importance of mycotoxin biomonitoring studies in humans and the need to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of mycotoxin-induced toxicity.

Modelling Fungal Growth, Mycotoxin Production and Release in Grana Cheese

No information is available in the literature about the influence of temperature (T) on Penicillium and Aspergillus spp. growth and mycotoxin production on cheese rinds. The aim of this work was to: (i) study fungal ecology on cheese in terms of T requirements, focusing on the partitioning of mycotoxins between the rind and mycelium; and (ii) validate predictive models previously developed by in vitro trials. Grana cheese rind blocks were inoculated with A. versicolor, P. crustosum, P. nordicum, P. roqueforti, and P. verrucosum, incubated at different T regimes (10–30 °C, step 5 °C) and after 14 days the production of mycotoxins (ochratoxin A (OTA); sterigmatocystin (STC); roquefortine C (ROQ-C), mycophenolic acid (MPA), Pr toxin (PR-Tox), citrinin (CIT), cyclopiazonic acid (CPA)) was quantified. All the fungi grew optimally around 15–25 °C and produced the expected mycotoxins (except MPA, Pr-Tox, and CIT). The majority of the mycotoxins produced remained in the mycelium (~90%) in three out of five fungal species (P. crustosum, P. nordicum, and P. roqueforti); the opposite occurred for A. versicolor and P. verrucosum with 71% and 58% of STC and OTA detected in cheese rind, respectively. Available predictive models fitted fungal growth on the cheese rind well, but validation was not possible for mycotoxins because they were produced in a very narrow T range.

Study on mycotoxin contamination in South African food spices

A validated QuEChERS-based method was used to investigate the occurrence of mycotoxins in 70 South African food spices [coarse chilli (n=14), ground chilli (n=4), paprika (n=7), ginger (n=5), chicken spices (n=8), onion spices (n=8), beef spices (n=5), Mexican chilli (n=9), vegetable spice (n=1), fruit chutney spices (n=4), and cheese spices (n=5)]. Mycotoxins were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results revealed that 40% of the samples were contaminated with aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin G1, ochratoxin A, sterigmatocystin, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1, fumonisin B2 and/or roquefortine C. The contamination levels for aflatoxin B1 ranged from 3-19 μg/kg; aflatoxin G1, 10-11 μg/kg; ochratoxin A, 4-20 μg/kg; fumonisin B1 104-591 μg/kg; fumonisin B2, 64-5,897 μg/kg; sterigmatocystin, 11-18 μg/kg; 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 42-46 μg/kg; and roquefortine C, 17-57 μg/kg. Mycotoxins co-occurred in 11% of the spice samples. Amongst the samples analysed in this study, paprika had the highest positives (100%) for the determined mycotoxins. Previous reports on mycotoxin contamination in spices, focused on the incidence of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, but not on the multi-mycotoxin profile in South African spices. This study thus provides a comprehensive assessment of mycotoxin contamination of spices in South Africa.

Antifouling Potentials and Metabolite Profiles of Two Marine-derived Fungal Isolates

Extracts of the culture broths of Aspergillus sydowii SCSIO 00305 and Penicillium chrysogenum SCSIO 00258 exhibited a relatively broad spectrum of antifouling activity against various biofoulers. The main chemical components of their bioactive fractions were analyzed and identified by LC-MS and from literature data. Two bioactive fractions comprised of 1α-methoxyroquefortine C, meleagrin, roquefortine C and isoroquefortine C exhibited more significant anti-barnacle activity than meleagrin in field bioassays, suggesting that the combination of different bioactive compounds could display a stronger antifouling activity than a single compound in the complicated marine ecological environments.

On-farm factors relating to mycotoxin occurrence and other chemical compositional traits in grass silages in Ireland

Many pre- and post-mowing on-farm traits influence mycotoxin occurrence and conventional chemical compositionin grass silages. The objective of this study was to determine if observed on-farm pre- or post-mowing factors can be used to indicate mycotoxin occurrence or conventional chemical composition traits in grass silages. Over a two year period (2012-2013 and 2013-2014) 290 grass silages were sampled on 145 farms and these consisted of baled (n=115) and pit (n=175) silages. On each farm in each year, a questionnaire was completed and pre- and post-mowingfactors recorded. The preservation quality was better in pit compared to baled silages in both years and in silages made in Year 2 compared with Year 1. On-farm pre- and post-mowing factors were generally not secure indicators of silage conventional chemical characteristics. In contrast, the occurrence of enniatins and beauvericin generally increased with harvesting month (May-October) for grass silages. Visible mould on baled grass silages and a rottedtop layer with pit grass silages were associated with andrastin A, mycophenolic acid and roquefortine C occurrence.