Mycotoxin Research最新文献

Probiotics present a promising and sustainable solution for mitigating the harmful effects of mycotoxins in food thereby resolving a critical concern for global food safety. This review highlights probiotics' role as eco-friendly bio-preservatives that inhibit both the production and effects of mycotoxins in food systems. It explores the in vivo and in vivo mechanisms through which probiotics neutralize mycotoxins, prevent their carcinogenic effects and improve food safety. These findings indicate the potential of probiotics dual function in preventing mycotoxin contamination at the food level and mitigating their harmful impacts upon ingestion. The review incorporates experimental case studies and innovations in probiotic research, emphasizing their potential as safe and effective alternatives to synthetic chemical detoxifiers. Despite significant progress in grasping the role of probiotics, hurdles remain such as strain specificity, limited clinical data and environmental factors affecting probiotic efficacy. This review identifies main research gaps and offers recommendations for future studies, particularly in advancing in vivo and human trials. By refining probiotic applications, integrating them into functional foods and handling regulatory hurdles, probiotics have the potential to significantly improve global food safety and public health.

Aframomum melegueta seed powder (AMSP) is a phytogenic supplement with notable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study assessed its potential to protect broiler chickens against aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁)-induced toxicity. AMSP was screened for phytochemicals and antioxidant activity. A total of 320 Cobb 500 chicks were assigned to four diets using a completely randomized design: CTRL (control), ATB1 (0.4 mg/kg AFB₁), A1AF (AFB₁ + 0.5 g/kg AMSP), and A2AF (AFB₁ + 1.0 g/kg AMSP) for six weeks. Exposure to AFB₁ by the birds in ATB1 markedly (P < 0.05) impaired growth performance, as evidenced by reduced final body weight (2,315.82 g vs. 2,743.23 g in CTRL), lower protein intake (813.45 g vs. 837.24 g), and increased feed conversion ratio (1.70 vs. 1.47). AMSP supplementation, particularly at 1.0 g/kg in A2AF, restored growth performance to control levels, while supplementation at 0.5 g/kg in A1AF achieved partial recovery. Compared with the CTRL group, AFB₁ exposure in the ATB1 birds reduced (P < 0.05) packed cell volume (29.37% vs. 35.05%) and haemoglobin concentration (9.79 g/dL vs. 11.68 g/dL), elevated (P < 0.05) ALT (24.04 vs. 16.77 IU/L), AST (70.62 vs. 57.59 IU/L), creatinine (74.85 vs. 52.43 µmol/L), TNF-α, IL-6, and corticosterone, and suppressed (P < 0.05) IL-10. These disruptions were largely normalised by AMSP, especially at 1.0 g/kg, restoring ALT, AST, creatinine, IL-10, and corticosterone to CTRL values. Histopathological analysis further confirmed that periportal inflammation and hepatic architectural damage induced by AFB₁ in ATB1 were attenuated in A1AF and absent in A2AF. In conclusion, AMSP supplementation at 1.0 g/kg effectively mitigated AFB₁-induced growth, biochemical, and hepatic impairments in broilers. These findings highlight AMSP as a promising natural feed additive for improving poultry health and ensuring feed safety, warranting further investigation into its application under commercial production conditions.

Mycotoxins, produced by fungi, contaminate animal feed and subsequently enter food products like eggs, posing significant health risks. This study aimed to optimize and validate a sensitive, cost-efficient, high-throughput UHPLC-MS/MS method for the qualitative analysis of 38 mycotoxins, and the quantification of 30, 29 and 29 regulated and emerging mycotoxins in chicken serum, egg yolk and egg white, respectively. Sample preparation involved liquid extraction with 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile, followed by protein and phospholipid removal using Oasis^® Ostro™. This high-throughput method processed 96 samples within 4 h. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Acquity Premier BEH C18 column using 0.1% acetic acid in both water and methanol as mobile phases, with gradient elution. The MS/MS instrument employed electrospray ionization polarity switching and operated in multiple reaction monitoring mode. To enhance performance, ¹³C-labeled internal standards were utilized. In-house method validation followed European guidelines, with procedural calibration curves constructed over a range limit quantification (LOQ) up to 200 ng/ml for serum and 20 µg/kg for egg yolk/white, demonstrating good linearity (r ≥ 0.99). LOQ values ranged between 0.05 and 1.0 ng/ml or µg/kg for serum and egg white, respectively, and 0.05-2.5 µg/kg for egg yolk. Results for within-run and between-run accuracy and precision fell within predefined ranges. The method's applicability was evaluated through the analysis of real serum and egg samples collected from 13 to 21 poultry farms in Ethiopia, respectively. Several mycotoxins were detected and quantified in all matrices, demonstrating the method's value for in-vivo monitoring of mycotoxin exposure and food safety risk assessment.

Multi-mycotoxin occurrence was investigated in samples of teas and spices marketed in Bangkok, Thailand, to protect consumer health. To date, the investigation of mycotoxins in teas and spices has become an important issue worldwide. Therefore, 120 tea samples consisting of 40 samples each of green tea, oolong tea, and black tea, and 300 samples consisting of 30 samples each of black pepper, white pepper, cardamom, coriander seed, cinnamon, cumin, chili powder, nutmeg, star anise, and turmeric powder, were sampled from markets in Bangkok, Thailand. The samples were extracted using a QuEChERS-like (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe) approach and the targeted 55 mycotoxins in the tea and spice samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. The results identified various levels of positive mycotoxin contamination in the tea and spice samples, with a variety of mycotoxins identified. The incidence levels of the mycotoxin contamination varied among the different types of tea and spice samples, excluding the black tea samples. Mycotoxins were detectable in all the collected black pepper and cinnamon samples. Beauvericin, an emerging mycotoxin, was the most common in the contaminated spice samples tested. There were co-contamination of two to five mycotoxins in spices, but not found in tea samples. The current results suggested that key and emerging mycotoxins should be identified. However, the mycotoxins in tea and spices commercialized in Thailand have somewhat low incidence levels, although some positive samples were greater than the regulatory limits set by the European Union or Thailand. Further studies are needed with larger sample sizes to confirm these as acceptable levels.

This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of mycotoxins in pastures (N = 84) and in conserved hay, haylage, and silage forages (N = 107) collected from 21 farms in the Southeast region of Brazil, using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Mycotoxins were quantified in 94 and 91% of pasture and conserved forage samples, respectively. The most frequently found mycotoxins in pastures were aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA). Among the plant species analyzed, Urochloa spp. showed the highest detection rates, especially for T-2 toxin (T-2), AFs, and OTA. Fumonisins (FBs) and zearalenone (ZEN) were the most prevalent mycotoxins in conserved forages. In pastures, OTA had the highest occurrence rate in summer, although FBs were more frequently quantified in the winter. The mean levels of AFs (sum of AFB₁ and AFB₂) in pastures and conserved forages exceeded the European Union's maximum tolerance limits for animal feed. Co-occurrence of mycotoxins was observed in 59 and 35 samples of pastures and conserved forages (70 and 34%, respectively). AFs with FBs (sum of FB₁ and FB₂), T-2, or OTA were the most common co-occurring mycotoxins in pastures, while the most frequent combinations in conserved forages were ZEN with FBs or AFs. Results of this trial provide novel data on the mycotoxin occurrence in tropical pastures and conserved forages, also highlighting the need for good agricultural and management practices to prevent their presence in grazing areas in Brazil.

Aflatoxins are highly toxic mycotoxins linked to serious health issues, including hepatotoxicity, immunosuppression, and oxidative stress. This study investigated the protective effects of chromium-methionine (Cr-Met) and selenium-methionine (Se-Met) supplementation, both alone and in combination, against aflatoxin-induced toxicity in mice. Five dietary treatments were implemented: a control diet (T1), an aflatoxin-contaminated diet containing 2 mg of aflatoxins per kg of diet (T2), and aflatoxin-contaminated diets supplemented with 0.5 mg of Cr-Met per kg (T3), 0.5 mg of Se-Met per kg (T4), or a combination of both (T5). Exposure to aflatoxins significantly (p < 0.05) impaired growth performance, disrupted liver enzyme profiles, suppressed immune function, and compromised antioxidant defense mechanisms. In contrast, dietary supplementation with T3 and T4 markedly (p < 0.05) enhanced growth performance, increased feed intake, and elevated immunoglobulin levels while reducing oxidative stress markers and liver damage. Gene expression analysis indicated that aflatoxin exposure led to the upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and the downregulation of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx); supplementation effectively reversed these alterations. Notably, the combined supplementation (T5) demonstrated the most significant protective effects, suggesting the role of chromium and selenium in alleviating aflatoxin-induced toxicity (p < 0.05). These findings underscore the potential of using Cr-Met and Se-Met in combination as effective dietary strategies to mitigate aflatoxin toxicity and enhance antioxidant and immune responses.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a stable, highly toxic compound that can cause multi-organ toxicity with prolonged exposure. Previous studies have demonstrated that ZEN can damage the physical barrier of the intestinal tract in animals. However, the relationship between ZEN-induced damage to the physical barrier of the intestinal tract in animals, oxidative stress, and the intestinal microbiota remains unclear. Astilbin (ASB) is a natural flavonoid renowned for its potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, whether ASB can alleviate ZEN-induced intestinal damage in mice remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether ASB can alleviate ZEN-induced damage to the physical barrier and dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota in mice. The study selected 36 male BALB/c mice aged 6 weeks, which were randomly divided into the CON group, the ZEN group (ZEN 40 mg/kg), the ASB group (ASB 100 mg/kg), the L ASB/ZEN group (ASB 25 mg/kg + ZEN 40 mg/kg), M ASB/ZEN group (ASB 50 mg/kg + ZEN 40 mg/kg), and H ASB/ZEN group (ASB 100 mg/kg + ZEN 40 mg/kg). The results showed that ZEN caused damage to the villous structure of the intestine and the ultrastructure of tight junctions, accompanied by a decrease in the number of goblet cells, a decrease in MUC-2 expression, an increase in serum LPS levels, a downregulation of tight junction protein expression, oxidative stress damage, and a disruption of the intestinal microbiota in faeces. Astilbin significantly ameliorated all these adverse effects. This investigation elucidates the mechanism by which ASB mitigates ZEN-induced intestinal injury via repairing the intestinal barrier. This study is the first to propose that astilbin (ASB) can alleviate zearalenone (ZEN)-induced intestinal injury by regulating the intestinal microbiota and repairing the intestinal barrier, thereby providing new mechanistic insights for the treatment of ZEN-induced enterotoxicity.