Most tropical fruits after harvest are very perishable because of fungal infection. Since some pathogenic fungi can produce hazardous compounds such as mycotoxins, novel rapid and effective methods to assess those hazardous compounds are urgently needed. Herein we report that Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. Q67, a luminescent bacterium, can be used to rapidly assess the toxicities of mycotoxins and cul...

Industrial hygienists (IHs) are called upon to investigate exposures to mold in indoor environments, both residential and commercial. Because exposure standards for molds or mycotoxins do not exist, it is important for the industrial hygienist to have a broad knowledge of the potential for exposure and health effects associated with mold in the indoor environment. This review focuses on the tox...

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain filamentous fungi (molds). These low molecular weight compounds (usually less than 1000 Daltons) are naturally occurring and practically unavoidable. They can enter our food chain either directly from plant-based food components contaminated with mycotoxins or by indirect contamination from the growth of toxigenic fungi on food. Myc...

BACKGROUND Kashin-Beck Disease (KBD) is an endemic osteochondropathy. Mycotoxins are believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of KBD. Because the molecular mechanism of mycotoxin-induced cartilage lesions remains unclear, there is not effective treatment for KBD now. To identify key genes involved in the mycotoxin-induced cartilage lesions, we compared the expression profiles of m...

Effects of addition of a mycotoxin detoxifier in poultry feed were studied in broilers. Aflatoxins were present in the poultry feed as 28 ppb (normal feed), 78 ppb (contaminated feed) and 170 ppb (highly contaminated feed). The mycotoxin detoxifier was used in 3 concentrations i.e. 1, 3 and 5 kg/ton of feed. Aflatoxins reduced the body weight in broiler chicken and treatment of contaminated fee...

Storage of freshly harvested fruit is a key factor in modulating their supply for several months after harvest; however, their quality can be reduced by pathogen attack. Fruit pathogens may infect their host through damaged surfaces, such as mechanical injuries occurring during growing, harvesting, and packing, leading to increased colonization as the fruit ripens. Of particular concern are fun...

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin compound produced mainly by Fusarium species of fungi which is present in cereals cultivated all over the world. The aim of the research was to examine the toxic influence of different doses of zearalenone on liver cells through estimating mycotoxin influence on markers evaluation of biochemical liver damage. The research was carried out on male Wistar rats. The rats ...

To evaluate the effects of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) on pigs and the benefits of two mycotoxin mitigation strategies, gilts (n = 84, 9.1 ± 0.1 kg) were allotted to four treatments: CON (control); MT (4.8 mg/kg feed DON and 0.3 mg/kg feed ZEA); MT-YC (MT + 2 g/kg of yeast cell wall product); and MT-YF (MT + 2 g/kg of yeast fermentation product). After 42 days of f...

The rotting of grains by seed-infecting fungi poses one of the greatest economic challenges to cereal production worldwide, not to mention serious risks to human and animal health. Among cereal production, maize is arguably the most affected crop, due to pathogen-induced losses in grain integrity and mycotoxin seed contamination. The two most prevalent and problematic mycotoxins for maize growe...

Trichothecenes are an important family of mycotoxins produced by several species of the genus Fusarium. These fungi cause serious disease on infected plants and postharvest storage of crops, and the toxins can cause health problems for humans and animals. Unfortunately, there are few methods for controlling mycotoxin production by fungal pathogens, and most rely on chemicals, creating therefore...