The control of mycotoxins is a global challenge not only in human consumption but also in nutrition of farm animals including aquatic species. Fusarium toxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), are common contaminants of animal feed but no study reported the occurrence of both mycotoxins in fish feed so far. Here, we report for the first time the occurrence of DON and ZEN in s...

Dried cassava products are perceived as one of the potential sources of mycotoxin ingestion in human foods. Processing either contributes to the reduction of toxins or further exposes products to contamination by microorganisms that release metabolic toxins into the products. Thus, the prevalence of microbial metabolites in 373 processed cassava products was investigated in Nigeria. With the us...

In this study, a method for detecting estrogenic mycotoxin residues in milk was developed utilizing bioluminescent whole-cell biosensors. Milk products of various compositions were spiked with the estrogenic mycotoxins zearalenone and its metabolites zearalanone, alpha-zearalanol, beta-zearalanol, alpha-zearalenol and beta-zearalenol. The estrogenic response was detected by a whole-cell biosens...

Mycotoxins are natural contaminants of cereals and other commodities throughout the world. They are produced by various strains of moulds, particularly in tropical countries. Due to significant trade of cereals, humans in temperate countries can also be exposed to mycotoxins. The most common route of exposure to mycotoxins is ingestion, but it may also involve dermal, respiratory, and parentera...

Mycotoxins are chemicals produced by fungi that can seriously affect the health of dairy cattle. Mycotoxin-producing fungi do not compete well with the microbes responsible for silage fermentation. However, if proper moisture content is not maintained or oxygen is allowed into the silage, these fungi can grow and potentially produce mycotoxins. In addition, mycotoxins formed in the field can pe...

Zearalenone (ZON) is a mycotoxin with estrogenic activity, produced by members of Fusarium species, and is found worldwide in a number of cereal crops. It is known to have four active metabolites (α-zearalenol (α-ZOL), β-zearalenol (β-ZOL), α-zearalanol (α-ZAL), and β-zearalanol (β-ZAL)). A highly sensitive analytical method using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry using electrospra...

A simple and rapid multi-mycotoxin method for the determination of 17 mycotoxins  simultaneously  is  described  in  the  present  survey  on  durum  and  soft  wheat  pasta  samples.  Mycotoxins included in the study were those mainly reported in cereal samples: ochratoxin-A  (OTA), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-and 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol  (3-AcDON and 15-Ac...

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin with nephrotoxic, genotoxic and carcinogenic properties produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus moulds under different climatic conditions. Humans and animals are exposed to this compound mainly via ingestion of contaminated food. In Croatia, research on mycotoxins focused on OTA when the mycotoxin theory of endemic nephropathy (EN) was postulated. Ochratoxin A...

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycoestrogen frequently found in food and animal feed materials all over the world. Despite its hydrophobic character, ZEA is also found in surface and ground waters which suggests an environmental risk for aquatic animals. Knowledge concerning mycotoxin-related mechanisms of toxicity is still incomplete, e.g. little is known about the influence of ZEA exposure on fish. T...